The Rebirth of The Doctor
by dudelove85
Summary: Series 8 very AU. The Time Lords ignore Clara's plea to help the Eleventh Doctor and he dies during the Siege of Trenzalore. Without a protector, the same alien Armada gets drawn to Earth and forces the companions to pull together to save the world. But then a woman strolls into the battle and claims to be The Doctor. Time Lords can regenerate but can they come back from the dead?
1. The Fall of The Eleventh

_Chapter 1 - The Fall Of The Eleventh_

The sounds of battle echoed off the stone walls of the church. Periodically a stray laser blast clipped the structure, sending dust and debris onto the occupants of the room. Everyone present knew that the town of Christmas had been lost to the Dalek fleet. The siege of Trenzalore had been going on for several centuries and despite the best efforts of the planet's defender, the end was near and it was the Daleks that were close to victory. Standing over the bed of a frail looking old man was Clara Oswald. Once upon a time she had jumped into the timestream to save the life of her best friend. Now all she could do was sit by his bedside and watch as he slowly slipped away.

The old man in question was someone known simply as The Doctor, a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. Ironically time was the one thing that was running out for the Time Lord. He was now over two thousand years old and at the end of his regeneration cycle. Even though he called himself the Eleventh Doctor, technically he was the thirteenth incarnation. The version of him that had fought in the Time War didn't take the name of The Doctor and the aborted regeneration of his previous incarnation had counted. Part of him hoped that it would be overlooked but there was no tricking his own biology. This body had been so frail for so long, more worn out than when he changed for the first time, that if regeneration was possible then it would've begun by now.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Clara asked, more in desperation than anything.

The Doctor shook his head, "I'm sorry Clara but all good things must come to an end". He coughed deeply a couple of time as he tried to sit up, "It's funny, the Daleks have tried to kill me numerous times over the centuries", he snorted, "turns out if you want something done right". His voice trailed off as he left the phrase incomplete.

"Doctor I'm not giving up on you", Clara said defiantly and walked out towards the balcony.

"Oh Clara", The Doctor sighed, "my impossible girl, still trying to do the impossible".

Clara stepped out onto the balcony and surveyed the scene below. The Daleks were rapidly closing in on the church, the final building in the town that hasn't been captured. The brunette looked up to the night sky and saw a golden crack appearing. Only it wasn't a natural phenomenon, it was a crack in the fabric of space and time. From what The Doctor had explained it was the Time Lords who were responsible for the tear in reality. By uttering his true name, The Doctor could release Gallifrey back into the universe. The whole war had been an attempt by his enemies to prevent this from happening. Now it appeared that The Doctor was going to take his final secret to the grave.

"I know you lot are listening", Clara called out in the direction of the crack, "but if The Doctor dies today then there's no chance of you freeing yourselves". She paused for a few moments but there didn't appear to be any response from the Time Lords, "I know you can do something to help", she pleaded, "so please, help him". The silence from the Time Lords continued, punctuated by the occasional blast from a Dalek weapon.

For a brief moment it looked like something was happening as the crack appeared to expand but just as quickly as this occurred, the crack slammed shut. "No", Clara whispered with tears in her eyes, "no you can't just leave him to die", she screamed into the night sky, "please, The Doctor can't die". The tears that had been threatening to fall slowly rolled down her cheeks, dropping against the wooden floor.

Clara stood there for a few moments, her hands clenched tightly against the wooden railing. The Doctor had never been too complimentary of the Time Lords but she never believed that they would be so callous. Without The Doctor it was highly likely that the Dalek fleet would set their sights on the rest of the system. Who knows where they would head after that, "Clara", The Doctor called out from the other room, "Clara it's time".

Taking a few deep breaths, Clara walked slowly back into the other room. She wiped her eye with the end of her sleeve and knelt by his bedside, "It was worth a try Clara", The Doctor sighed, "but the Time Lords were very strict about the regeneration limit. It appears that being stuck in a pocket dimension has done nothing to change their minds".

"But you mentioned others that had been granted new lives in exceptional circumstances", Clara shook her head, "surely this counts as exceptional?"

"My death has always been a fixed point in time", The Doctor began, "one that not even the Time Lords want to break". Silence once again descended between the pair as the Time Lord tried to make himself more comfortable, "Promise me one thing Clara Oswald", he gasped.

"Anything Doctor", Clara replied.

"Continue with your life and don't forget, never stop running", he grasped Clara's hand for a brief moment before his eyes began to close, "run my impossible girl and remember me", and with those words, The Doctor took his final breath and peacefully slipped away.

Clara lowered her head and more tears began to fall. She grasped The Doctor hand and mentally willed him to come back to life but after a few moments, she had to accept that he was gone. Once again she wiped her eyes and thought about what to do next. The Doctor wouldn't want his body to fall into the hands of the Daleks, who knows what they do with his remains.

"The one known as The Doctor has expired", the mechanical voice of a Dalek screeched from down below, "confirm, confirm".

Clara didn't know who the Dalek was talking to but she got her answer moments later, "Yes, The Doctor is dead", the voice of Tasha Lem replied to the Dalek.

"I need to get out of here", Clara muttered to herself. Her silent prayer was answered when she heard the familiar sound of the TARDIS moving from its position outside. The craft materialised around her and The Doctor until she was standing in the console room of the TARDIS. The lights were dim inside the ship, almost like she was in mourning for her pilot.

The school teacher decided that The Doctor needed a better resting place than the floor. She reached under his arms and slowly dragged him towards her bedroom. It wasn't the most dignified way to move his body but it wasn't like Clara had much choice. Eventually she reached her destination and to her surprise, there was a wooden pallet on the floor surrounded by a pile of wood. The TARDIS and Clara had a difficult relationship but the ship had never left something like this in her room before. The brunette rolled The Doctor's body onto the pallet and called out to the ship, "Is there a reason for this?" she asked, "is it a weird Time Lord funeral thing that I don't know about?"

The TARDIS mentally reassured the brunette that this wasn't undignified or disrespectful to The Doctor and promptly asked her to return to the console room. On her return Clara was confronted with an image of The Doctor, not the aged old man that she had left in her bedroom but his youthful looks had been restored. Clara's initial reaction was to run up and throw her arms around the man but as she approached, The Doctor flickered. This wasn't the man himself, it was a hologram, _"Hello Clara_ ", The Doctor began, _"if you're seeing this then sadly I didn't make it"._

Clara circled the hologram a couple of times but it showed no signs of recognising her presence, _"I'm afraid I'm going have to ask something impossible of you",_ The Doctor's image continued.

"Don't you always", Clara half smiled.

" _A Time Lord's body is a miracle",_ The hologram began, _"and it can't be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. I have given some co-ordinates to the TARDIS, somewhere quiet where you can cremate my remains"._

"That explains the wood", Clara commented to herself.

" _Once you've done this, the TARDIS will return you to Earth",_ The Doctor continued, _"don't worry about the old girl, she'll find somewhere safe to live out the rest of her days"._ There was a pause in the recorded message before The Doctor finished, " _Don't worry Clara, this is just the beginning of my next great adventure",_ he snorted in laughter, " _quoting Albus Dumbledore, I must be going senile"._ Clara had to laugh at that comment, even if it did release a couple more tears, _"Thank you Clara, thank you for travelling with me and thank you for being my friend_ ", the image sighed, _"I just wish that all my other companions would hear me say this but goodbye universe and goodbye Clara Oswald"._

The image disappeared and once again Clara was alone inside the TARDIS. Not for the first time that day, she had to dry her tears before she could do anything else. She approached the console and flipped the switch, commencing The Doctor's final journey. As she was waiting to arrive, she thought back to The Doctor's words about his companions. It seemed a little unfair that she got to say goodbye but none of them would get that chance.

She pulled one of the viewing screens around and began typing something into the console, "Hey TARDIS", Clara began, "did The Doctor keep a record of all of his companions?" Answering the brunette's question a list appeared on the screen. Some of the names were crossed through in red which Clara assumed meant they were dead or not accessible for some reason. Some were on different worlds and in different time periods so that removed them from consideration. The rest though were still alive in 2014 and surprisingly, they were all in the United Kingdom. "Don't worry Doctor", Clara whispered, "I won't be the only one who gets to remember you". The rest of the journey continued in silence as a plan began to form in Clara's head.

The Doctor might be gone but the legacy that he left behind wouldn't be forgotten in a hurry. Clara Oswald would make sure of that.

 _ **A/N –**_ _This is my first attempt at a Doctor Who story...and I start by killing off the title character. Probably not something that's going to endear me to everyone but I do have a plan. This is effectively an alternate Series 8 based on the premise that the Time Lord didn't grant The Doctor a new set of regenerations. Surely The Doctor, a man who went to great lengths to avoid death at the hands of the astronaut, would have some kind of plan in case his life was threatened again._

 _I have more idea for further stories, effectively turn it into a full series, whether I upload them will depend on the response to this story. So consider this a pilot story for the adventure of an alternative Twelfth Doctor._


	2. Funeral For A Friend

_Chapter 2 – Funeral For A Friend_

Nearly three weeks had passed since The Doctor's death and Clara had been trying her best to keep herself busy. Honouring The Doctor's last request, the TARDIS had taken them to Dormentos, the fifth planet of the Abraxia system. The planet was primitive, not even a Class 1 planet according to the Shadow Proclamation's definition. This would be the last place anyone would look for any remains of a Time Lord. It had taken her several hours but Clara dragged the funeral pyre to the edge of the forest before setting the remains on fire. She sat cross legged and watched as the smoke rose high into crystal blue sky, keeping a silent vigil beside her best friend. Several hours passed before the fire burned itself out and even then, Clara stayed rooted in the same position. She didn't want to move, the second she did then everyone would be over, her adventures in time and space, her relationship with The Doctor, everything.

Eventually the sun began to set, forcing Clara to retreat back to the TARDIS. With a heavy heart she flipped the control level, sending her back to the twenty first century. After collecting her personal belongings, she lingered for a few minutes in the console room. She wanted to burn this moment into her memory because it would be the last time she would be inside the TARDIS. Finally she stepped outside and the doors closed behind her. The time rotor lurched into life and the old ship disappeared to begin her final journey.

Clara was surprised to see that she had been returned to Earth on Boxing Day, the day after she had left for Trenzalore. She had printed out a list of The Doctor's former companions from the TARDIS, complete with their last know contact details. She was a little disappointed to see that the list hadn't been kept up to date but then again, The Doctor wasn't one for revisiting his past. Contacting everyone on the list kept her mind occupied and provided good therapy for the school teacher. After calling the first few names on the list, she found it less difficult to talk about The Doctor's death. She almost forced herself to focus on the good times rather than his passing.

She put a call into Kate Stewart at UNIT who found a secure venue to host a memorial service for the Time Lord. The venue was in North London, a city that The Doctor had almost made his second home. A large hall had been decorated with different images of The Doctor's various incarnations. Clara smiled to herself as the group shared stories of their time with The Doctor. Some had travelled with him for years, others had only met him a handful of times.

Clara recognised some familiar faces, the current head of UNIT Kate Stewart and her assistant Osgood. The pair were standing in a small group of other UNIT affiliated people, namely the retired Sergeant Benton and Captain Yates. A couple of others that Clara recognised from the TARDIS' databanks were Liz Shaw and Jo Grant, or Jo Jones now that she was married. Over near a portrait of the Seventh Doctor was the familiar frizzy hair of Melanie Bush. A few greys were sneaking in but her hair was still as vibrant as ever.

Some former companions couldn't make it, Tegan Jovanka sent her apologies but she wasn't available that day plus it was a long journey from Australia. Neither could one of The Doctor's first companions, Ian Chesterton, as he had a hospital appointment today. Everyone else was either in a different time period, off world or physically unable to be there.

As Clara sipped at a glass of white wine, someone tapped her shoulder. She was an older brunette in her mid fifties, "You must be Clara Oswald", she said and held out her hand, "Sarah Jane Smith".

"Oh wow", Clara shook her hand in return, "I can't believe this, I've heard a lot about you".

"Really?" Sarah Jane raised an eyebrow, "that would be a first for The Doctor". He paused and sighed, "He wasn't someone who liked to look back over his past".

Clara nodded in agreement, "Yeah I got that", she pulled out her phone and showed Sarah Jane the list of names she had retrieved from the TARDIS, "but you were a regular contact on his list so I did a little bit of research. Very impressive, running an alien hunting operation from your attic".

Sarah Jane gave the younger woman a little smile, "You remind me myself about thirty years ago". Her gaze fell on a couple of pictures, a white haired man with a velvet coat and a curly haired man with a multi-coloured scarf, "I travelled with both of them", she pointed them out to Clara, "two completely different men but I loved them both equally". She gazed at the ground and bit her lip, "He was such a big part of my life and I can't believe that he's gone".

"You're not the only one", a male voice said from behind the two women. They turned around and saw a handsome dark haired man dressed in a vintage blue Air Force coat, "Nice to meet you again Sarah Jane Smith", he grinned, "I just wish it was under better circumstances".

"Me too Jack", Sarah Jane replied, "Clara, I'd like you to meet-".

"Allow me", Jack took hold of Clara's hand and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles, "Captain Jack Harkness and you must be the lovely host of this party".

Sarah Jane slapped him lightly on the arm, "Jack", she drew his name out in a cautionary tone.

Jack's face fell slightly, "He used to do that", he sighed, "in that exact tone as well".

Clara slowly pulled her hand away from Jack and looked awkwardly between him and Sarah Jane. She waited for a few moments, not wanted to intrude on the private mourning moment. Eventually she coughed, bringing the attention of the pair back to the present, "Yes, I am the host, Clara Oswald", she began, "I travelled with the him", the brunette sighed, "I was the last one". Her eyes began to moisten slightly, saying it again suddenly made it all seem so final.

"Was it at least peaceful?" Sarah Jane asked.

"As peaceful as it could be", Clara replied, "he fought to defend a small town on a planet called Trenzalore. He fought for hundreds of years until old age finally caught up with him and he slipped away peacefully. He knew he was out of regenerations, he could've run but he stayed until the very end".

"Yeah that sounds like our Doc", Jack sighed. Another awkward silence descended on the pair until Jack spoke again, "Perhaps you should say a few words", he prompted Clara.

"Oh, I'm not sure about that", Clara waived him away.

"Nonsense, you're the one who brought us together", Jack placed two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly, "hey a little quiet for our hostess".

"Thank you Jack", Clara muttered and that drew an apologetic smile from Sarah Jane. The brunette swallowed deeply as several pairs of eyes turned in her direction. She took a few moments and began, "Thank you for coming out today, I'm sure if The Doctor were here, he would be touched to see so many people here for him".

A murmur of agreement rolled around the group as Clara took a couple more seconds to compose herself, "I might not have known The Doctor as long as some of you", she glanced briefly at Sarah Jane, "but I knew him well enough to know that he was the bravest, kindest person that I met, both human and alien".

"Normally most aliens were trying to kill us", someone joked from the back of the room, drawing a small chuckle from the group. Clara remembered him as Mickey Smith from earlier introductions.

"True", Clara smiled briefly before turning more sombre, "sorry I'm not very good at speeches", she paused again, "The Doctor put a lot into this planet, if we do a fraction of what he did to then we'll be doing one hell of job". There was silence before a quiet round of applause broke out. Clara brushed her hair behind her ear to cover her embarrassment, "I guess that's it, thank you once again", she added.

"Short but sweet", Jack patted her on the shoulder, "a little like-".

He was about to say something else but Clara cut him off, "Perhaps we'll leave that there", she smiled, "The Doctor warned me about you".

"Spoil all my fun", Jack sulked. Just then he spotted someone else near a picture of the First Doctor, someone he hadn't seen before. It was a woman with long raven black hair, approximately in her mid thirties. She was wearing in a black cocktail dress that skimmed her knees and had teamed it with a matching pair of black heels. The mystery woman was gazing at the picture before moving slowly, almost methodically onto the image of the Second Doctor, "Ever seen her before?" Jack asked.

"Nope, don't remember inviting her", Clara shook her head, "although I've spoken with so many people in the last few weeks I could've done". Clara observed the woman, maybe it was some kind of intuition but she wasn't getting any negative vibes from her. Her body language suggested that she was in mourning as well.

"Something doesn't feel right", Jack began, "maybe someone should talk to her".

"I'll do it", Clara interjected, "if I think she needs investigating further, I'll let you know".

Clara quickly weaved through the crowd until she caught up with the woman. She was inspecting a picture of the Sixth Doctor very carefully, "It took a brave man to pull off that kind of coat", she commented.

"Like an explosion in a paint factory", the woman replied with an upper class British accent, "not one of his prouder moments".

The woman still hadn't turned around but Clara took a few moments to consider her initial comments. The accent sounded like it had come straight out of the nineteenth century and there was a familiarity to the way she spoke about The Doctor. Something wasn't added up so she decided to push further, "Did you know The Doctor well?" she asked.

"Not as well as I would've liked", the dark haired woman stated with a small amount of hurt in her voice. She finally turned around and gave Clara a tight smile, "You must be Clara Oswald", the woman offered her hand and Clara reluctantly shook it. Her skin was cool to the touch and her dark brown eyes appeared to be analysing the young school teacher.

"Yeah that's me", Clara replied slowly, "so did you travel with this Doctor?" she pointed at the blonde haired Sixth Doctor.

"Fortunately not", the stranger began, "he was a bit too loud for my taste".

Clara vaguely registered the sound of a mobile phone ringing but she pushed it out of her mind and focused on the raven haired woman in front of her. She was good at deflecting her questions and getting a straight answer out of her was providing to be difficult, "You're being evasive", she replied, "just who are you?"

The woman laughed softly, "You'll find out soon enough", she pointed her head in the direction of Kate Stewart who was talking on her phone, "you might want to pay attention to that".

Clara looked towards the blonde haired head of UNIT, she had a deep frown on her head. Whoever she was speaking to was giving her some bad news. The look of apprehension from the woman was radiating out to her UNIT colleagues who were hovering near their leader. "Do you know some-", Clara spun around to address the woman but she had disappeared.

She didn't get long to dwell on this as Kate hung up from her call and addressed the group, "Everyone listen up, I've just received word that an alien fleet is heading here".

If this was any other group of people they would've begun to panic but they weren't. Instead everyone was ready to help if necessary, "Who is it", Sarah Jane asked, "Daleks?"

"Sontarans?" Martha added.

"Cybermen?" Captain Jack stated.

"Don't tell me it's Zygons", Harry Sullivan sighed, "they must've heard about the gas I developed".

"It's all of them", Kate sighed, "and many more. It looks like they're aware that The Doctor is gone and are seizing the opportunity to invade".

"It's like Trenzalore all over again", Clara gasped, "all of them attacked the planet at some point. But that was several centuries in the future, how could they know to attack here and now?"

"All good questions for another time", Kate replied, "Doctor Jones, Captain Harkness come with me", she then turned to Clara, "you had better come too Miss Oswald, you've experienced this before".

"Yeah thanks for reminding me", she sighed, it was a combination of these aliens that had cost The Doctor his life.

"What about us?" Mel called out, "what can we do to help?"

Kate thought about this for a few moments, "I suppose it would be redundant of me to ask you to leave this to UNIT?" The defiant looks from several people gave her the answer, "Fine, Sergeant Benton, Captain Yates you're in charge of everyone else, please keep them safe".

"The car's ready to go", Osgood called out from the doorway.

"Good, you three, with me", Kate added and led Martha, Clara and Jack out of the building. An invading Armada of alien ships and no Doctor to help them, this was going to be a tricky one for his old companions.

 **TO BE CONTINUED**

 _ **A/N -** Thank you for the comments one the opening chapter and to those who've followed this story. The action should pick up from now as the invaders arrives. _

_As you might've guessed we've just gotten our first glimpse of the new Doctor. I've based her appearance on Jaime Murray (Warehouse 13, Hustle - UK series etc). Ever since she appeared as HG Wells in Warehouse 13, I thought she would make a good choice for a female Doctor. The picture in the story image is taken from Warehouse 13 and the moment I saw that, I knew it would be the perfect outfit for a lady Doctor. Next time, The Doctor makes her dramatic comeback._


	3. Back From The Dead

_Chapter 3 – Back From The Dead_

The journey to UNIT Headquarters seemed much longer than any of the occupants of the car had remembered. Martha and Jack had only been there a few of times on official business. For Clara this would be her second visit, although the last time she had arrived in the TARDIS. That was the day that she met two of The Doctor's previous incarnations and helped save the planet from a Zygon invasion. On the same day she had witnessed the end of the Last Great Time War, helping the three Doctors seal Gallifrey away. The brunette rested her head on the window and stared vacantly into the sky, it had only been a few weeks since that day but it felt like a lifetime ago.

"Penny for your thoughts", Martha said to Clara, breaking the silence.

"Sorry I was miles away", the school teacher wrung her hands together and looked at the floor of the car, "did The Doctor ever tell you about his home planet and the Time War?"

"Yeah he said that it had been destroyed and he was the last of his kind", Jack replied, "well almost, if you count The Master but even he's gone now".

Clara slowly shook her head, "See that's what he thought as well", she began, "except we found out that it only looked like it had been destroyed. It's still out there somewhere but sealed away in a pocket dimension".

"So there's more Time Lords out there?" Martha asked in hope.

"Yes and no", Clara stated, "they're stuck outside the Universe, that's what the war on Trenzalore was all about. The Time Lords could've returned if The Doctor said his true name".

"But everyone else wanted to prevent that", Jack finished the brunettes sentence, "poor Doc", he shook his head. "I remember when I first met him, he had big ears, a leather jacket and talked with a Northern accent", he smiled, "he carried so much pain from the Time War and he never realised that Gallifrey was still out there somewhere".

"Mine was the same", Martha joined in, "on the surface he was happy but underneath there was so much anger and regret".

"I met that one", Clara said, "pinstripe suit, spiky hair, really skinny", Martha nodded and laughed at the description, "he never got to return home, not long after that day we ended up on Trenzalore and well", she sighed, "you know the rest".

The car descended back into silence again but fortunately it wasn't too long before they reached central London. They crossed over Tower Bridge and into the Tower of London itself. The trio were ushered out of the car and down into the restricted area that made up UNIT Headquarters. Inside the building hundreds of military personnel were frantically rushing around, checking their screens on the progress of the invading fleet. They didn't get long to settle as soon Osgood dashed up and stopped beside them, "Excellent you're here", she began, "it's chaos, people are running around everywhere, Kate's phone won't stop ringing, the fleet's getting closer-"

"Osgood", Martha placed her hands on the woman's arms, "just breathe, don't forget the inhaler I prescribed". Osgood nodded and pulled out the small blue device and took a quick puff, "Now where's Kate?"

"Conference room", Osgood replied, "follow me". The group were lead down a series of bland looking corridors until they arrived at a large steel door. Osgood swiped her security pass and the doors swung open. Inside Kate Stewart was addressing a couple of people on a video wall whilst a couple of senior UNIT officials watched on.

"Don't worry I've got my best people on the job", Kate said before noticing the new arrivals, "ah here they are now, allow me to introduce Clara Oswald and Doctor Martha Jones", the two women waived, "and I assume you remember Captain Jack Harkness".

"I would hope so", Jack smiled, "Mr Prime Minister, Mr President", he nodded.

"That's the British Prime Minister and the US President", Clara whispered to Martha.

"When you work for UNIT, you get used to it", Martha shrugged.

"Can you be honest with us Kate", the President began, "how serious is this situation?"

Kate took a few moments to think of the appropriate answer but quickly decided that honesty was the best policy, "Very", she replied, "all UNIT bases have been mobilised but we haven't seen an invasion fleet this size, well ever". She paused for a couple of moments before continuing, "I honestly don't know if our forces will be enough".

That statement heralded a grim silence as the two world leaders both leaned back in their chairs. "The UN have given us access to the codes", the Prime Minister eventually replied, "we have been authorised to use maximum force to repel this threat".

"Codes?" Clara asked in confusion, "you mean nuclear launch codes?" The Prime Minister nodded solemnly, "But we can't, that could cause more damage than the Armada".

"I'm well aware of that Miss Oswald", the Prime Minister replied, "but this is a desperate situation. I would like to have all options available to me".

"This isn't what The Doctor would do", Clara said defiantly, "he held off this fleet with just himself and some soldiers. He didn't need to use nukes to fight off a few spaceships".

"Yes but this Doctor fellow isn't here", the President replied and Clara's face instantly fell, "I'm sorry but this is the decision of the Security Council and UNIT has their full backing". The brunette retreated slightly but still didn't look happy with the situation, "If there's nothing else, good luck everyone", with that, the video conference was terminated.

"Don't worry Clara, you said exactly what we were thinking", Martha reassured the younger woman. Jack nodded in agreement, remembering the time that Davros and the Daleks tried to destroy the Universe with a Reality Bomb. The Doctor wasn't happy with their threats to destroy the world just to stop the creator of the Daleks.

"But the Prime Minister is correct", Kate added, "we have to be prepared to defend ourselves".

Clara snorted, "It appears you've already forgotten that incident in the Black Archive. Two months, is that all it takes you for to forget and to declare nuclear war on someone".

Before Kate could respond an alarm began to sound throughout the base. Osgood quickly tapped something into the computer, bringing up a map of the Earth, "The ships have arrived in orbit", she announced, "and we've got reports of Daleks and Sontarans in the centre of London".

"I still don't understand how they got here", Clara gently nudged Osgood aside, "the stuff on Trenzalore happened centuries into the future". She pushed aside one of the UNIT personnel that was sitting behind a computer and began typing, "Something must be drawing them to this location".

"What are you looking for?" Kate asked.

"I'm not sure", the brunette shook her head, "something that shouldn't be there". The computer began to buzz, "Ah, found something, there's an energy disturbance coming from Trafalgar Square".

"Couldn't that be from any of the aliens?" Martha frowned at the map, Clara was right the centre of London was a hotspot for something.

Osgood took over from Clara at the computer, "It doesn't match any known frequencies of Dalek, Cyberman or any other alien that's meant to be in the Armada". She pushed her glasses up her nose and continued typing, "There's a massive amount of temporal energy coming from the area and its acting like a homing beacon".

"Then we need to shut it off", Jack said firmly, "at least we can prevent anyone else from showing up".

"Do it", Kate nodded, "but be careful". The trio quickly rushed out of the room and in the direction of the courtyard. Jack and Martha grabbed a weapon but Clara politely refused, she hadn't fired a weapon before and now probably wasn't the best time to start learning.

"These have been specially designed to work against Daleks", Jack began, "but they've never been tested before so there's a very real chance they won't work". Martha's blaster was small and could be held in one hand whilst Jack's was a little bigger. He slung it around his body using the attached strap and quickly found a car for them to complete the journey into Central London

The head of Torchwood jumped into the driver's seat with Clara riding shotgun in the front. Martha sat in the back, with Jack's weapon taking up the rest of the back seat. It didn't take them long to notice the tell tale signs of an ongoing battle. People were running towards them, screaming in absolute terror. Overhead they could see a number of Daleks targeting innocent civilians. They discharged their weapons, killing indiscriminately as people tried to flee. Martha wound the window of the car down and fired off a few shots of her own. The weapons worked better than expected and soon three Daleks had been destroyed but her actions were beginning to draw their attention, "I think they've spotted us", she cried.

"You think", Jack replied as he dodged some laser fire exploded in front of their vehicle. He swerved violently a couple of times, trying desperately to shake off the Dalek that was following them. He clipped a stationery car, knocking off the door mirror but that barely slowed their progress, "Damn it, Clara take the wheel", he said to the brunette in the passenger seat.

"But I haven't even passed my test", she cried.

"Now's a good time to learn", Jack pointed the car in the straight ahead position and quickly moved into the back seat.

"I picked the worst day to wear a skirt", Clara muttered as she nervously shuffled over the gear stick. She grabbed the wheel and tried her best to keep the vehicle under control. Unfortunately she had only taken a few lessons and she was veering all over the road, "Sorry about this", she called out.

"Just keep going", Martha replied as she fired her weapon towards the Daleks, "we're nearly at the Square".

Clara took a couple of deep breathes, "Alright I can do this", she chanted like a mantra. Suddenly she came upon a row of stationary cars, forcing her to swerve into the other lane. A bus coming the other way forced her to take to the pavement, scattering retreating pedestrians, "I don't think I can do this", she cried.

The car bounced back into the road and the jerking motion caused Clara to lose control. She clipped a metal fence, sending the car spinning off the pavement and back into the road. The car rammed into the side of another car and the airbags deployed with a loud bang and a blinding flash. The occupants of the UNIT car blacked out temporarily but they were slowly coming to their senses when someone pulled the door open, "Quickly, you need to get out of here", a female voice called out.

It took Clara a few moments to recognise the voice and her dazed state didn't help but suddenly it came to her, "It's you, from earlier on", she muttered, recognising her as the woman from The Doctor's memorial service. The woman was tucking something into the pocket of her jacket but Clara couldn't see what it was, "What about the Daleks that were behind us?"

The raven hair woman nodded, "Taken care of and you three will be very much dead if you don't hurry up", she reached inside and pulled them all out. Once they were all out, she pointed towards a side alley, "Quickly, try to keep up", she instructed.

"Just who put you in charge", Jack wiped some blood off his nose, he might be immortal but he still bled like everyone else.

"I did", the woman replied confidently and jogged across the road, the sound of her boots echoed off the concrete ground with each step.

Clara rolled her neck a couple of times, trying to loosen it up a little bit. Once the cobwebs had been cleared, she looked at the woman again, "You've changed your clothes", she commented.

The woman spun around quickly on her heels and the sides of her purple velvet jacket spun with her. The main part of the jacket was a light purple colour with some darker patches around the cuffs and collar. Clara occasionally caught sight of the purple and white lining of the jacket when the woman moved. Underneath the coat she wore a light blue blouse with a small black waistcoat that supported her chest. The woman wore a loose fitting pair of black trousers team with a pair of brown boots and completing her outfit was a pair of black fingerless gloves, "Very observant", she replied shortly, "are you done commenting on my choice of clothes or did you want to reach your destination". She turned back around and continued to walk briskly down the alley.

"How do you know where we're going?" Martha shouted, "and just who the hell are you?"

"You'll find out in a couple of minutes", she replied coyly as they reached the end of the alley. The group could see Nelson's Column looming overhead, signifying that they had reached Trafalgar Square. The woman turned around to address the group, "Now you three wait here, you're my insurance policy", she gave them a small smile, "and if I say run, run", she added and marched out into the Square.

"She's going to get herself killed", Jack was about to follow after her.

"Stay where you are Captain", the woman called out, "I need to concentrate and looking at you makes me feel extremely unwell".

Clara recoiled slightly at the comment, "Well that's a little rude", she stated as the dark haired woman strolled towards Nelson's Column.

Jack thought was stunned, only one other person had said that to him before, "No, it can't be", he mumbled.

"Can't be who?" Martha asked in confusion.

Meanwhile the woman had walked confidently into the middle of Trafalgar Square where some Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, Ice Warriors and Autons waited for her. They were inspecting something at the base of Nelson's Column, "I see you found the old girl then", the woman commented. The sound of several weapons charging up could be heard but the woman didn't flinch, "I really should get that chameleon circuit fixed", she shook her head.

The crowd of aliens slowly parted, revealing a dark blue Police Box, "That's the TARDIS", Martha gasped, "I thought you said it went back to Trenzalore".

"It did", Clara replied, "at least I thought it did".

Back in the Square, the alien invaders were slowly approaching the woman, "Who are you", the Dalek screeched, "indentify".

"Don't you know who I am", the woman chuckled and touched her face, "I know I look different but that never stopped you from recognising me before". She paced a couple of times, "In a moment I'm about to say four words that will make you quake in your boots", she looked at the assembled aliens, "those of you that have boots that is".

"Cease your prattling", the Sontaran stated, "or you shall be obliterated".

"No still nothing", the woman sighed, "oh well, I guess I'll have to tell you". She looked at the trio in the alley and winked before turning back to the alien invader. She flashed her brightest smile, cleared her throat and stated, "Hello, I'm The Doctor".

 **TO BE CONTINUED**


	4. Choppy Waters

_Chapter 4 – Choppy Waters_

Following the declaration from the woman claiming to be The Doctor, everything went silent. The group of aliens took an unconscious step back from the woman whilst the three companions in the alleyway gasped in disbelief. The Doctor bounced on the balls of her feet a couple of times, eagerly waiting for a response from anyone. She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her coat and shook her head, "Huh, normally that gets a bigger reaction, I'm a little disappointed".

"The Doctor is dead", the Cyberman stated in its robotic voice, the sound of which sent a chill through the bones of the three humans hiding out of sight, "he ceased to function on the planet Trenzalore".

"True, one of my more boring deaths if you ask me", The Doctor smiled, "I can prove it to you", she opened her arms, "scan me but this is a onetime only offer. It's rude to scan a woman without her permission you know".

The Dalek began to move its plunger arm in a scanning motion over The Doctor's body. The raven haired woman looked almost bored with the delay and tapped her foot impatiently, "Binary circulatory system detected", the Dalek declared and it briefly inched away, "you are the one known as The Doctor".

The Time Lady gave the mutant creature a little smirk. The Dalek's synthesized voice had risen in pitch by a couple of tones, the creature of hate was terrified by her reappearance, "That's what I've been trying to tell you", The Doctor said, exasperated by the conversation. The various aliens began to charge up their weapons, the sound of them powering up and their various calls for the immediate death of the woman filled the air. The Doctor though didn't look too concerned, "Now boys, let's not be too hasty".

"You will be exterminated", the Dalek screeched loudly.

"Before you do that, I want you to consider something very carefully", The Doctor began with a slow, methodical tone in her voice, "I defied you for nearly seven hundred years on Trenzalore when I only had one life remaining". She paused for a moment to allow that to sink in, "This body has plenty of regenerations left so just imagine how long I will defend this planet for now".

"The Sontaran Empire is prepared for a protracted military engagement", the creature declared proudly, a loud thud echoed from his chest as he pounded it defiantly with his fist.

"For now yes but I've destroyed entire fleets with just a few minutes planning", The Doctor replied, "will the Sontaran Empire look so mighty after I've been given a millennia or so to devise your downfall". The Sontaran hesitated slightly, bringing a smile to The Doctor's face, "I've got an offer for all of you", she continued, "think of it as a welcoming present from me. If you want to abandon this fruitless war then I'll let you leave and I won't track you down. You're free to go and I won't even think any less of you", she shrugged momentarily, "although that not too hard as my option of all of you is a little low".

"And if we refuse?" the Cyberman asked, even the emotionless cyborg was sounding hesitant.

The Doctor frowned, "I guess we'll find out in a few thousand years", she said with a dangerous tone. There was a tense silence before one by one, the aliens teleported away, leaving The Doctor alone in Trafalgar Square with her TARDIS. The Doctor blinked rapidly a couple of times as a eerie silence filled the streets of Central London. Some loose newspaper skipped across the ground where the creatures had been standing, rustling quietly in the breeze. "Oh, that was easy", despite her cool exterior, the Time Lady's hearts were still beating rapidly, "I should've thought of that centuries ago", she added with a slightly dismissive tone that went against the nervousness she was feeling.

In the alley Jack, Martha and Clara stared in stunned silence at the woman. Disbelief was rolling off them in waves as the raven haired woman nonchalantly opened the door to the TARDIS and stepped inside, "Wow, that I wasn't expecting", Jack gasped, "she's certainly the best looking Doctor I've met".

"Is that the most important thing on your mind", Martha shook her head. The young doctor wasn't fully convinced that this woman was The Doctor. But there was something about her mannerisms that screamed 'Time Lord' to her. That little glimmer of hope was gnawing away at her disbelief, "Are we just going to stand here?" she said to the others.

Clara stood motionless and chewed on one of her nails, a nervous habit that she thought she had left behind during her childhood. Her emotions were swirling around like a hurricane and were radiating outwards around her body. The shock of the Time Lady's re-emergence was threatening to wash away any joy that she might be feeling , "I'm not convinced", she finally stated and shook her head, "that can't be The Doctor".

"Regeneration is a lottery", Jack began, "trust me I've seen it before".

"But he", Clara waived her hands in the air, "sorry she didn't regenerate. The Doctor died, I burned his body, how can he regenerate after that?" That was the sticking point for the school teacher, she could remember the heat from the flames as she watched The Doctor's body burn. She had picked through the ashes to ensure that nothing remained that could be used. The emptiness she felt when she stepped into the TARDIS for the final time, all of that would stay with her forever.

"Are you three waiting for an invitation", The Doctor called out from the TARDIS doorway, interrupting Clara's memories, "you can come in".

The trio looked at each other, Jack and Martha were willing but the pair could sense that Clara was more than a little hesitant. Seeing that she was going to be outvoted, the school teacher sighed and led them across the deserted street and towards the TARDIS. She paused at the doorway, pushed aside her memory of her previous journey in the ship, took a deep breath and stepped inside. The console room was largely as she remembered it except that none of the lights were working. The only light was coming from a few lanterns that were dotted around the floor. The humans could sense that something wasn't right with the TARDIS. The sentient ship was sick but they could feel a glimmer of life with every faint pulse of the Time Rotor.

"Sorry about the mess", The Doctor stated without looking away from a screen, "the old girl was in the middle of redecorating". The humans could see several loose cables hanging down from the ceiling and there were holes in the floor, fortunately not on the main walkway to the console itself. When they reached the console they found several exposed panels with wires laced between the different panels. One of the scanners was completely broken and even the Time Rotor looked a little dull. "Stupid bloody thing", The Doctor swore as she slammed her predecessors sonic screwdriver onto the console. It looked almost comically big in her hands in her now feminine, "Must've used the last of its power getting you three out the car", she still tucked it into the pocket of her coat.

"Doctor?" Jack nervously stepped forward, "is it really you?"

"The one and only", The Doctor replied, "and just because I'm a woman now doesn't give you permission to flirt". The Doctor didn't look up from the only working screen, instead she was furiously flicking levers and tapping something into a keyboard, "I'm sorry old girl but I need you to hold together for just a few more hours", she said in the direction of the TARDIS.

"What's wrong with the TARDIS", Martha asked curiously, "and how are you here?"

"We found a large quantity of temporal energy in the area", Jack added, "is that something to do with you?"

The Doctor sighed, mostly in frustration that she had been interrupted and reluctantly looked up from the screen, "The TARDIS is fine or at least she will be, she just needs to restore her systems after that messy business on Trenzalore".

"You mean that little incident where you died", Clara said coolly. Anger was beginning to build in her chest at this woman's flippant attitude towards her supposed death.

"Yes that one", The Doctor nodded, seeming oblivious to her companions emotions, "funny thing about the Time Lords is that they don't make a decision quickly. By the time they chose to grant your request I was already dead, hence", she opened her arms to show off her new body. "One question though", The Doctor grasped her long black hair, "how do you cope with so much hair?"

Clara could feel her blood pressure rising each time The Doctor opened her mouth, "That's the most important thing on your mind", Clara began, "you come back from the dead and you're worried about your hair", she said with indignation. She still a couple of moments to internally count to ten, trying to reign in her bubbling anger, "I burned The Doctor's body, I mourned his death and you're telling me the Time Lords just clicked their fingers and brought you back to life".

"Wouldn't be the first time they did it", The Doctor shrugged casually, "I'm sure you two remember The Master", Jack and Martha shuddered at the name, "yeah I thought so". The Doctor turned back to the screen, "To answer your question Martha all this temporal energy is nothing to do with me. I followed it here like everyone else and I would be able to tell where it's coming from if this thing would work". She banged her hand on the console top and a shower of sparks covered the quartet.

That was the final straw for Clara as her temper finally boiled over, "How can you be so casual about this, don't you care about our feelings at all", she hissed, "we all thought you were dead, we held a service in your honour".

The Doctor looked down at the console surface and her a moment, her companions were sure they could see some storm clouds gathering in her eyes, "Right now Clara I've got more important things to worry about", she replied in a cold, flat tone. she looked up and her dark brown eyes locked onto Clara's, "For example the huge Armada of aliens about to declare war on your planet. We can talk about your precious feelings once I've gotten rid of them", she added, her voice rising with each word she spoke. A couple of moments later she let out a deep breath, releasing some of the tension in her body. She pushed her hair out of her face and with a softer tone added, "I'm sorry I don't mean to sound ungrateful but I've got a lot on my mind right now".

The hurt was clear on Clara's face but she refused to be intimidated by the Time Lady. The harsh words of her friend though had dealt a crushing blow to her heart and it took all of her resolve not to let this show on her face. She held The Doctor gaze until she uttered, "Yeah sure, it's all about you Doctor, right?" Clara spun away and moved to another part of the console, away from The Doctor.

"That was a little harsh", Jack whispered and Martha nodded in agreement, "we were all hit hard by your supposed death but Clara took it hardest, probably because she was there".

The Doctor was filled with regret with that the words had even left her mouth, "I know", she muttered gently to the pair and shook a few loose strains of hair out her face, "this body's still settling, my emotions will be erratic until that stage passes".

"I know that but Clara doesn't", Jack warned, "just keep it under control, yeah?"

The Time Lord nodded and returned her attention back to the screen, "I can't tell if they're still out there", she began, choosing to divert attention back to the alien invasion fleet, "the scanner's low on power, it barely picking up anything above the troposphere. I can tell you there's a large flock of geese flying over Kent but not if the Daleks and their allies have actually gone".

"Daleks don't usually give up", Martha commented, "neither do Cybermen or Sontarans from what I remember. Don't really know enough about the others but all of them certainly looked scared when you told them you were The Doctor".

"Yes I noticed that too", The Doctor's smile was a little forced, she was still replaying her earlier conversation with Clara back through her mind, "I'm going to need something a little more powerful", she sighed, "looks like I'm going to have to pay UNIT a visit".

"Don't sound too excited about that Doc", Jack smiled, he wasn't a huge fan of UNIT himself. On many occasions Torchwood had come into direct conflict with the organisation.

The Doctor rolled her eyes, "How many times do I have to tell you Jack, don't call me Doc". She patted the console surface and looked up at the Time Rotor, "I'm sorry for hitting you old girl, do you have enough juice left for one more flight?" The Rotor flared briefly, giving The Doctor an answer, "Thank you", she said to the ship. The Doctor clapped her hands together, "Right I think I'm going to need all of you for this flight".

"Just tell us where you want us", Martha replied. She tempered her excitement at being back in the TARDIS again. You could cut the tension in the ship between Clara and The Doctor with a knife and UNIT's medical officer didn't want to make the situation worse.

"Alright Martha you man that station", The Doctor pointed to one side, "Jack you grab that one". She paused and realised that she would need Clara's help as well. The brunette woman was resting on the console, her hands gripping the sides so hard that her knuckles had turned white. The Time Lady could feel the maelstrom of emotions coming off the school teacher. The fact that she had unintentionally caused much of her pain resonated all the way to the Time Lady's soul. Swallowing her pride The Doctor stepped over some fallen cables and approached her companion, "I'm sorry", she began, "I guess this version of me is a little spikier than you're used to".

"It's not just that", Clara sighed, "you don't seem to understand how hard these last few weeks have been for me. I thought you were dead and then you turn up alive and well without a care in the world". She paused and took a deep breath, "It just reminded me how alien you really are". That was the heart of the matter for Clara, the very fact that The Doctor could be reborn finally made her realise how alien her friend was. Everything else she could deal with but The Doctor's indifferent attitude towards her own death and the impact that it had on others, that was a different story.

"Sometimes I forget myself", The Doctor said honestly, "if this is going to be a problem...", her voice trailed off.

Clara shook her head, "As you said, more important things to worry about", she stood up off the console. The Doctor got that bit right, any personal feelings would have to be pushed aside for the time being. "We can talk later", Clara said with a small amount of fake cheeriness, "how can I help?"

The Doctor knew that her companion was hurting but she and the others still had work to do, "You've got the most important job", The Doctor began, "you get to operate the stabilisers, I know I don't normally like to use them but I think we're going to need them on this flight".

"No problem", Clara grasped the little blue switch tightly in her hand.

The Doctor smiled in appreciation and moved back to her usual flight position, "Next stop, The Tower", she flipped a switch, "I hope". The Time Rotor lurched into life violently and the four man crew were thrown about in their positions, "Come on my dear", The Doctor tried to coax her TARDIS, "I know you can do this". The TARDIS lurched again and everyone clung on for dear life, praying that this wasn't one journey too far for the little blue box.

 **TO BE CONTINUED**

 _ **A/N -** So there's your first taste of the new 12th Doctor. She's a very spiky character although not on Capaldi's level. The way I imagined her is without a filter between her brain and mouth so whatever flashes across her head (good, bad, rude, angry, whatever) will come out of her mouth. As you can hopefully tell from this chapter. _

_Thank you for the positive responses so far. I'll be honest this is out of my writing comfort zone in terms of the emotional aspects of the characters but I do like a good challenge. The reviews have been greatly appreciated, especially the comments of "WordOfTheIlluminati" who's honest critique motivated and helped me to improve this chapter from what I had originally wrote._


	5. Pieces Of A Puzzle

_Chapter 5 – Pieces Of The Puzzle_

Inside the command centre of UNIT Headquarters, Kate and Osgood watched nervously as the Daleks swept through central London. All squadrons were reporting heavy losses along with civilian casualties. There were further reports coming in of Cybermen attacks in the south of the city, Sontarans in the north and Autons coming in from the west. On the main monitors, she could only watch helplessly as thousands of red dots poured into the capital. The different waves appeared to be heading towards different locations in the city, "Ma'am, we've worked out the most likely destinations of the invaders", one of her staff said and handed her a piece of paper.

Kate grabbed the report and quickly read over the results, "Downing Street, the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace", she read outloud. She tried to keep her voice from trembling but even the normally unflappable Kate Stewart was extremely fearful about the scale of the invasion fleet. With each passing minute, the morale in the squad room dropped. Everyone in the room had family in the Greater London area and every few minutes the tense silence would be broken by the sound of someone's phone ringing with news about their loved ones. Each reported death was like a punch in the stomach for Kate, another death that she and UNIT had failed to prevent.

"They're attacking our seats of government", Osgood cried and snatched the sheet from her boss, "and the Dalek wave is heading here". The bespectacled woman clutched the piece of paper closer to her chest as her breath began to shorten. A gentle wheezing from her throat began to grow until she was close to a full blown asthma attack. She pulled out her inhaler, took a quick puff and swallowed slowly. The medicine took away the symptoms of Osgood's asthma but it didn't remove the root cause of her attack, her overwhelming sense of fear that this could be humanity's final day.

"We're prepared for this", Kate said as calmly as she could. She didn't want her own fear to transfer over to the rest of her team, especially to Osgood. "Order any units still inside the base to man the defensive positions. We can't allow the Daleks to get into the Black Vault, who knows what sort of damage they could do with some of the technology in there".

The blonde turned around once she had given her orders and began to head outside but she was cut off by her assistant, "You're going out there aren't you?" Osgood asked.

"I'm not going to hide inside here whilst good men and women are getting killed by those things", Kate snapped, forcing Osgood to visibly recoil. The head of UNIT dropped her head slightly and her blonde hair brushed against her cheeks. She cared deeply for her assistant and tried to be careful around the young woman. Her self esteem was fragile at best and Kate hated that she had taken out her frustration on Osgood, "Sorry I didn't to snap like that", she added.

Before Osgood could reply, the officer seated in front of the screen spun around in their chair, "Ma'am, they're retreating", he called out.

"Retreating?" Kate asked, "the Daleks are retreating?"

"Not just the Daleks", the man replied and pointed towards the map, "everyone is retreating". Sure enough when Kate looked at the screen all the dots were slowly disappearing. A sense of relief washed over the squad room as everyone scrambled to take a closer look at the screen. It was like a pressure valve had been opened and there was finally hope in everyone's eyes that they would survive. Some rubbed their eyes in disbelief, suddenly the world felt a little brighter.

Kate took a step back and folded her arms, something about this didn't make sense, "Are they just retreating from the surface or are they leaving orbit?" she asked.

It took a few moments for the response, "Everyone's gone apart from the Dalek, Cyberman and Sontaran fleet", the man replied. Kate thought about this for a couple of moments, something had happened to make the others not just retreat but run away. She wasn't surprised with the ones that had stayed behind, Daleks, Cybermen and Sontarans weren't known for retreating.

Suddenly Osgood pushed herself towards the front, "Something's happening in Trafalgar Square", she pointed at the map as a large red patch began to appear before quickly disappearing.

"Something's heading this way", the man reported but the more he stared at the screen, the confused he looked, "I don't understand these readings, the objects registers as small yet massive at the same time".

"That can only mean one thing", Kate stated and a small smile appeared on her face, "but just in case divert some troops to the courtyard, I think we're about to get a very special visitor".

Kate and Osgood pushed the doors open and began to walk towards the courtyard. The news that the alien fleet had retreated had already filtered out of the squad room. The soldiers and scientists that were coming the other way had a small spring in their step. The staff of UNIT could allow themselves to smile for the first time today.

One of the scientists was so engrossed in her conversation that she bumped straight into Kate, knocking the blonde against the wall, "Director Stewart", she gasped in horror, "I-I-I'm so sorry I-I wasn't looking where I was going", she stammered.

The head of UNIT looked at the woman in front of her, "It's fine Winifred", she replied, "we're all in a hurry". Kate quickly recalled some information from the woman's personnel file, the scientist's age was given as early forties but she looked good for her age. Her dark brown hair had a few lighter streaks and today it was tied back into a messy bun. She had a pair of red framed glasses perched on top of her head but Kate never recalled seeing her wearing them. Winifred McQueen was a new recruit to UNIT and from all accounts, she was an absolute genius, if a little scatterbrained and nervous, "Just take more care next time", Kate added with a small smile.

"Oh I will", Winifred replied, "and that report you wanted, I'll have it ready for tomorrow", the dark haired scientist turned around and continued her walk down the corridor, bumping into several more people in the process.

"I heard someone in the canteen say she reminds them of me", Osgood began, "the stuttering and general attitude. I'm not that bad, am I?"

Kate didn't reply for a couple of moments and her assistant bit her lip nervously. Eventually Kate chuckled and replied, "Of course not, you have some control over your limbs". The head of UNIT continued her journey with Osgood trailing behind, not fully reassured by her bosses statement.

Out in the courtyard between the towers, Kate looked up into the sky just in time to see something crash into one of the spires, sending debris raining down onto the ground. "That's the TARDIS", Osgood wheezed out and took a puff on her inhaler, "but that's impossible".

The TARDIS continued to spin out of control, bouncing off the opposite tower and dislodging some stones in the process. The blue box hopped off the ground a couple of times and eventually slid to a halt against another wall. Kate coughed as some dust from the crashes irritated her lungs, "I see his piloting skills are the same", she mumbled. Some of the soldiers assigned to guard flicked the safeties off their guns, "Hold your fire", Kate called out, "this man isn't a threat".

The doors to the TARDIS flew open and Jack, Martha and Clara stumbled out into the courtyard. Smoke was pouring out of the TARDIS and all of them had soot on their faces, "Worst journey ever", Martha coughed.

"I dunno, I've had worst", Jack tried to joke as he wiped some of the soot off his face with the sleeve of his coat.

Kate and Osgood jogged over to the trio and tried to look behind them and into the TARDIS, "Is it true?" Kate asked in hope, "is The Doctor alive?"

"Sort of", Clara replied, sounding more than a little unsure.

"So he's regenerated", Kate stated and the group nodded, "my father told me about that, he might look and act differently but underneath he's still the same man".

Jack and Martha looked at each other nervously as Clara replied, "Yeah about the man part".

Before Clara could continue, The Doctor burst out of the TARDIS and shut the door behind her, "Sorry about that everyone but I think the TARDIS will be out of action for a few hours". She brushed some soot off her purple jacket before turning her attention to the UNIT team, "Kate Lethbridge-Stewart", she said with joy and threw her arms around the other woman, "wonderful to see you again".

The blonde held her arms out to the side rigidly as the Time Lady slowly released her from the hug. She looked at the raven haired woman in confusion, "Doctor?" she asked nervously.

"That's me", she replied, "I know, I look a little different this time", she grabbed some of her dark hair, "it's the hair isn't it". She turned away from the flabbergasted expression on the head of UNIT's face and looked up, "Sorry about the damage, bit of trouble with the TARDIS, nothing a good rest won't fix though". The Doctor then looked at Osgood, "Hello again", her voice trailed off and a bemused expression appeared on her face, "no wait, don't tell me", she clicked her fingers, "Osgood, right?"

"Erm, yeah", Osgood nervously responded.

"See, getting better all the time", The Doctor clapped her hands together, "Kate I'm borrowing your long range scanner, it'll only take a few minutes". The Doctor marched off into the building without waiting for a response from the head of UNIT, leaving two very confused people behind in the process.

The three companions slowly followed the Time Lord into the building with Kate and Osgood following closely, "Trust me, I know exactly what you're thinking", Jack smiled.

"My father never said they could change gender", Kate stated in bemusement, "faces yes but never gender".

"Guess there's a lot of things we didn't know about The Doctor", Clara replied bitterly. The journey across London had been rough and uncomfortable for the group and for once, it wasn't purely done to The Doctor's flying abilities.

The group weaved through the corridors until they arrived in the surveillance room, The Doctor was already there and hunched over a screen, "Just the Daleks, Cybermen and Sontarans left", she mumbled, "could be worse", she shrugged. She tapped something into the keyboard and watched as the map began to change, "A column of temporal energy, that's different".

"We didn't know what that was either Doc", Jack stated, "could it be something to do with your reappearance on Earth".

"No this isn't vortex energy, this is something else", The Doctor began, "it's like a summoning beacon and everyone responded, even me". She paced a couple of times and tapped her chin, "I'm missing something but I can't think what it is", The Doctor added.

To everyone's surprise, The Doctor flopped to the floor and sat down cross-legged. She placed her hands together underneath her chin and a look of deep concentration appeared on her face, "Erm, Doctor?" Martha asked.

"Shh", the Time Lord cut her off, "I'm thinking".

"Whilst sitting on the floor", Clara raised an eyebrow.

"Helps the blood flow to the brain quicker", The Doctor replied, "at least that's what Gandhi told me, now everyone be quiet". The Doctor sat in that position for a few more moments until she suddenly sprung to her feet, "A temporal bubble, why didn't I think of this before", she cried and pulled out her sonic screwdriver.

"What's a temporal bubble?" Kate asked, "is it dangerous?"

"It's not something you can shoot it that's what you're asking", The Doctor replied. The screwdriver still wasn't working correctly and she had to tap it on the palm of her hand a couple of times, "That was always your father's first thought", she continued before smiled, "I bet the old Brigadier is still out there giving orders ".

An awkward silence descended on the room as everyone looked firstly at The Doctor and then Kate, "Doctor my father died two years ago", she replied, a look of hurt and confusion etched across her face. The Doctor immediately stopped fiddling with the screwdriver, "You were at the funeral service and gave a small speech at his wake", Kate added with a whisper. She slowly turned away from the Time Lady, disappointed that she had forgotten about her father's death.

The Doctor was silent for a few moments, "Of course how could I forget, must be something to do with the revival process", she muttered and slowly turned her attention back to the computer screen. The sonic screwdriver burst into life, giving The Doctor a welcome distraction. She pointed the device at the screen and the image began to shift to show the Earth. A pale yellow bubble was beginning to form around the planet with its epicentre in central London, "Hah, just as I suspected", she cried, "it's a temporal bubble".

"Still haven't explained what that is?" Clara grumbled and folded her arms across her chest.

The Doctor spun around and tucked her screwdriver away, "Temporal bubble is probably not the right term but you haven't got anything sufficient in your language to communicate it correctly. In simple terms a temporal bubble seals something inside so it sits outside of time".

Jack frowned, "Is that similar to a time lock", the former time agent asked.

"Similar but this is a lot more dangerous", The Doctor replied, "a time lock seals something away and prevents further access. A temporal bubble doesn't prevent access, in fact it encourages people to seek it out", she paused for a moment, "and like moths to a flame, we all came", she frowned.

Clara slowly raised her hand, "Sorry still not getting it, why is this dangerous".

The Doctor sighed loudly, "Think about a normal bubble, what happens when you pop a bubble?"

"It breaks", Martha answered.

"Correct Doctor Jones", The Doctor replied, "now imagine what would happen if this bubble were to break", she pointed at the screen, "a lot of energy would be released with the planet in the line of fire".

Silence briefly descended on the room as the companions and UNIT staff looked at each other nervously, "But you can stop it, right Doctor?" Osgood asked.

"Of course I can", The Doctor smiled, "but it'll be a lot harder without the TARDIS to dissipate the energy". She suddenly paused and clapped her hands together, "Unless we send the energy back where it came from". She walked past the group and towards the door, "I'm going to need some help Clara", she called out before walking out the door.

"She's like a hurricane", Kate blinked a couple of times, "just blows in and expects us to follow in her wake".

"I'd better go", Clara muttered, "someone has to keep an eye on her", the brunette sighed and slowly left the room to catch up with The Doctor.

"Something's not right with The Doctor", Jack began, "regeneration can make you a little unstable but forgetting that your father was dead", she added in the direction of Kate.

"A lot of things don't make sense", Kate replied, "but she seems to know what's she doing", the others in the room weren't entirely convinced though.

Clara caught up with The Doctor just as she was leaving the Tower, "Doctor wait", Clara called out, "you can't just breeze in, throw out your orders and expect us to jump to your tune".

"Why not I'm The Doctor, it's what I do", the Time Lord shrugged without slowing down.

"Apart from the fact that it's extremely irritating", Clara called out, "and this walking away thing is also annoying".

"New body, new rules Clara", The Doctor turned around but continued to walk backwards, "does it bother you that much".

Clara stopped and looked towards the ground, "I don't know, I'm still trying to process this. One minute you're dead and gone, the next you breeze back into town like nothing's happened".

The Doctor finally stopped and began walking back towards Clara. The school teacher wasn't that tall but even in a female body, The Doctor towered over her. The Time Lady placed her hands on the school teachers shoulders and looked into her eyes, "Clara think about this, I didn't ask for anyone else, I wanted you to come with me". She paused for a moment to allow this to sink in, "I might look and act different but you still my impossible girl and my best friend". When Clara didn't respond immediately, The Doctor slowly deflated internally. Her companion didn't trust her anymore and that broke both of her hearts, "Look can you believe in me for the next hour, I really need your help with this", she pleaded with a look of desperation in her eyes.

Clara bit her lip and thought of the best way of responding to the Time Lady. She was hesitant because she still didn't understand how the woman could be standing in front of her. The reluctance of The Doctor to provide a proper explanation wasn't helping. But the pleading look of the raven haired woman told a different story. She looked lost and genuinely in need of Clara's help. The brunette nodded her head slowly, "Alright but can you at least slow down and explain as you go along, some of us don't have your superior Time Lord brain".

"I don't know, you're pretty smart for a human", The Doctor smiled, "not like some of the other brainless apes on this planet". She held out her hand, "One last hurrah", she asked the school teacher.

Clara took her hand, "Lead on", The Doctor turned around and practically dragged Clara away from the Tower. One thing did bother Clara, The Doctor said 'one last hurrah'. Did that mean that she didn't want Clara onboard the TARDIS anymore? Did Clara still want to travel with this new Doctor? The brunette buried those thought for now, as The Doctor said earlier, there were more important things to worry about.


	6. Pretty Reckless

_Chapter 6 – Pretty Reckless_

Despite Clara's protests of walking, The Doctor insisted that they proceeded into Central London on foot. Occasionally the Time Lady would pause and observe the destruction that had been caused by just a few rampaging Daleks. Near the entrance to an underground station, Clara spotted a small group of bodies in close proximity to each other. They had attempted to huddle together for their own protection but it had been in vain, the Daleks had exterminated them without mercy. The pair approached the mound of humanity, Clara had a strong stomach but even she gagged slightly at the sight of the bodies tangled together. The stench from the decomposing remains irritated her nose and the back of her throat. Eventually it became too much and she had to back away.

The Doctor though was different. She crouched respectfully over the bodies, gently closing their eyes and lowering her head. When Clara finally worked up the courage to turn back around, she could hear the Time Lady muttering something but she was too far away to identify the words. Eventually the Time Lady stood up and rubbed the corner of one of her eyes with a finger. For a brief moment the pair were connected in their grief for the deceased. There was no need for words, a simple look at each other was enough to know what the other was thinking. The Doctor nodded slowly and continued her brisk walk through the city.

As the school teacher tried to keep up, she realised this was all very different from the man she had known. Of course her Doctor had taken the deaths of civilians hard but she never remembered him shedding a tear before. The Time Lady tried to cover it up but Clara was positive that she had been crying over the bodies near the tube station. Clara was trying to piece together the mystery that was this new Doctor, one minute she was very alien, uncaring almost to the point of callous but the next she was crying over the victims of the Daleks. The pair continued to walk in a deafening silence until the bruntte decided to speak, "It wasn't your fault", she said softly.

"Hmm", The Doctor turned her head slightly towards the school teacher, "did you say something?"

"It wasn't your fault Doctor", Clara repeated, "you couldn't have prevented the Daleks from attacking the city".

"I know", The Doctor sighed in response, "but a small part of me wishes that I had got here a little quicker". She paused to wipe her eye again, the memories of the people destroyed at the hands of the Daleks flooding over her. Not just the people of London in the twenty first century but the billions across time and space. Memories of the Time War drifted into her head, her fellow Time Lords, Ladies and ordinary Gallifreyians shot down in their prime. "Must be this female body, I'm reacting differently than I used to", she added, trying to shake off her emotions.

"Probably hormones", Clara shrugged, "if Time Lords have hormones that is?"

"Time Lords don't have hormones", The Doctor brushed her comment off, "we're not slaves to an internal chemical reaction thank you very much". The pair continued to walk in silence for another couple of minutes until the Time Lady added, "I could've stopped them you know, before they were even created". The Doctor could see Clara looking in her direction but the Time Lady continued to look straight ahead, "The High Council sent me to Skaro to prevent their creation back in my fourth life but I couldn't do it".

"Why not?" Clara asked softly.

The Doctor ran her hand through her dark hair and let out a loud sigh, "That's a question I've been asking myself ever since". Prior to the Time War, The Doctor hadn't really thought about that day much. Things changed after the Time War though, her Ninth self had spent a long time asking himself the very question that Clara just posed. The following two Doctor's hadn't dwelled quite so much but the thought still lingered in the back of their minds.

Another question flashed across Clara's mind but given the grim silence that the Time Lady had descended into, she was reluctant to ask. After a couple of moments she swallowed her fear and the question rolled off her tongue, "If you could go back, would you act any differently?" The Doctor froze in her tracks and her shoulders tensed the moment the words came out of Clara's mouth. She glanced briefly at the school teacher with a pained expression before continuing to walk, this time at a slower pace. Clara wasn't completely sure how to take the Time Lady's reaction but the lack of response told her a lot. The Doctor wasn't sure if she would show mercy to the Daleks again and that terrified her more than the mutant creatures themselves.

Their journey continued in an uncomfortable silence for another few minutes. Clara was desperate to break that silence before the oppressive atmosphere engulfed them. She decided to keep her conversation away from the Daleks as much as she could, "You were at the memorial service earlier", she began, "how did it take you so long to get here?"

"What service?" The Doctor replied, "I've spent the time since my revival trying to get the TARDIS working again. The moment I did, I locked onto the temporal energy reading and came straight to Earth". She paused briefly to get her bearings in one of London's narrow back streets, "The TARDIS landed in Trafalgar Square and I was exploring when I heard your car crash". Suddenly The Doctor slapped herself on the head, "Trafalgar Square, of course", she said and took off running.

"Doctor, you're doing it again", Clara warned the Time Lady, sprinting to keep up with her. She wasn't that annoyed with The Doctor though, at least she had snapped out of her morose mood.

"The temporal bubble needs some kind of transmitter, a ground zero if you will", she replied. The Doctor skidded to a halt and turned sharply to the left and continued running, "Nelson's Column would be an excellent aerial to establish the bubble".

"Wouldn't metal be a better transmitter?" Clara asked, struggling to keep up with The Doctor, "there are plenty of those in London as well".

"You'd think but temporal bubbles need something earthy as their focal point", The Doctor stated. She paused again as Nelson's Column appeared in the distance. The Time Lord suddenly felt a little light headed and stumbled backwards into Clara's waiting arms, "Thank you Clara", she stated, "whatever we're looking for is definitely in the vicinity of the Column".

Clara looked at the Time Lord, who was slowly regaining her footing. Her skin was already quite pale but The Doctor was looking whiter than usual, "You okay Doctor, you don't look so good".

"Yeah I'm fine", The Doctor straightened out her coat, "the temporal bubble is giving off a lot of time energy, so much so that it overwhelmed my natural time sense".

"So the superior Time Lord biology let you down then", Clara smiled and The Doctor laughed in response. It was probably the first time that the pair had shared a laugh since the Time Lord's unexpected return just a few hours ago. The school teacher's heart warmed slightly at the shared moment between the pair, "Right we should probably take care of that big bubble", she continued.

"Yes absolutely", The Doctor stated in response and pulled out her sonic screwdriver, "do you have your mobile phone with you?" Clara nodded and handed the device over to The Doctor, "This should give you access to UNIT's secure phone lines", she added and zapped it with her screwdriver. To her frustration, the screwdriver sparked and fell out of her hand, "That's not good", The Doctor said and handed the phone back to Clara.

"Performance issues", Clara attempted to joke but The Doctor glared in response, "right, not the best joke to make".

The Doctor picked up the remains of her screwdriver up off the ground and held it by the tip, "Well looks like I'm going hands free for this next part". She stuffed the bundle of metal and wires into her jacket pocket, "I used to like going hands free you know but then again I also used to decorate my coat with vegetables", she added, confusing her companion. The Doctor grabbed Clara's hand and pulled her towards Trafalgar Square, "Come on, we don't know how long we've got until the bubble is completed".

The pair completed the short sprint to Trafalgar Square, passing the remains of the UNIT car that Clara had crashed in the process. The Square had been cordoned off by UNIT soldiers and it was totally deserted. The Doctor spun around a couple of times, trying to pinpoint the exact source of the temporal bubble, "Clara, call UNIT and get the status of the bubble", The Doctor called out without looking at the teacher.

"Yes boss", Clara sighed and found a new contact in her address book. She pushed the call button and slightly to her surprise, it began to ring. After a few seconds it stopped ringing, "Hello, anyone there?" Clara asked.

" _Clara?"_ the voice of Kate Stewart replied, _"how did you get this number, this is a secure line?"_

"Three guesses", Clare replied and she heard Kate sigh loudly, "The Doctor wants to know the status of the temporal bubble".

There was a brief moment of silence before Kate replied, _"Almost closed and the Dalek, Cybermen and Sontaran fleets have begun to encircle the planet"._

"They're going to fire the moment the bubble is closed", Clara stated. She lowered the phone and called out, "Doctor it's almost closed and we're running out of time". The Doctor was still glancing aimlessly around Trafalgar Square, "Now would be a good time for some assistance", she added impatiently.

"I'm trying to work out how this thing works", The Doctor shot back, "a little bit of quiet would be appreciated". Once again The Doctor sat down and rested her chin on her hands. She closed her eyes and stayed in that position for a few seconds, much to the clear frustration of Clara Oswald. "Got it", The Doctor sprung to her feet and moved towards the corner of the square, "As you know Trafalgar Square has four plinths, three of which are permanently occupied".

"Yeah we covered this in school", Clara replied, "three of them have statues but the fourth was left empty for a long time".

"It was suppose to have a statue of William the Fourth but before it could be erected, someone broke it", the sheepish look on The Doctor's face told Clara that one of the Time Lord's past incarnations was the someone she referred to, "Since the late nineties, the plinth has been occupied by various pieces of modern art".

The Doctor's voice trailed off slightly as they approached the fourth plinth, which today was occupied by a tangle of metal tubes, glass and wires. There didn't appear to be any pattern to how the various different objects were placed together. A couple of tubes pointed skyward and were wrapped in some blue wire. The remaining metal looked like it had been dropped on the plinth without any due care. "Ode to consumerism", Clara read the inscription, "I'm not an art critic but this is a pile of junk".

"You're not wrong Clara but this pile of junk hold a secret", The Doctor kicked the side of the supposedly stone plinth and it crumbled into dust, "this junk is the aerial and here's the computer that's powering it".

Clara crouched down and gazed at possibly one of the most advanced computers she had seen. There were a least four processers that were wired together by brightly coloured tubes. The far end of the plinth was lit up like a Christmas tree with various different LED lights. Everything was connected to the metal sculpture on top of the plinth with a bundle of cables at least two inches thick, "This looks far too advance for 2014", Clara mumbled.

"Oh it's definitely out of its time period", The Doctor joined Clara on the concrete floor, "probably at least a thousand years ahead of its time". The Time Lord gingerly pulled on some of the wires, "Whoever created this little beauty is an absolute genius".

"But how did it get here if it's from a thousand years in the future?" Clara frowned, "and can you stop it?"

"That's two very good questions", The Doctor stuck her head into the plinth, "how it got here is anyone's guess". The Time Lord continued to inspect the wires and tubes with a worried look on her face, "Can I stop it", she shrugged and tugged lightly on a couple of wires, "maybe".

"Maybe", Clara replied, "you think you can stop it?"

"It would be easier if my screwdriver wasn't fried", The Doctor snapped without removing her head from the plinth. She pulled one of the wires loose and the tubes began to glow, "Oh I didn't want to do that", she gasped.

"Do what", Clara asked but she could feel the heat and energy coming off the computer, "you've accelerated the process haven't you?" The Doctor didn't respond and turned her attention back to the jumble of wires. She pulled two more loose wires and tapped them together which produced a shower of sparks. Her action also blew out one of the glass tubes, forcing them to cover their faces, "Now you're just pulling random wires and hoping for the best", Clara cried.

"Ye of little faith", The Doctor replied and pulled a huge bundle of wires free, "I've just disabled the security protocols on this machine. It can now be accessed by any computer within a twenty mile radius". The Doctor smiled broadly but Clara just frowned in response, "What?" she asked, confused that Clara didn't understand the magnitude of what she had just done.

"That's very clever but I don't see a computer in your hands", Clara replied, "or one in the immediate vicinity", she added and indicated to the abandoned square.

"Ah", The Doctor bit her lip, "I'll admit that is the one small flaw in my plan". She looked around the area but there didn't appear to be anything helpful, "A flaw that I'm not sure if I can immediately overcome".

Clara retort was cut off by her phone ringing and she answered it whilst glaring at the Time Lord, "Hello", she answered.

" _Clara whatever it is you're planning, you better do it soon_ ", Kate called out with a hint of panic in her voice, " _the bubble's almost closed and we estimate that Earth will be sealed inside within the next five minutes"._

The school teacher looked at the floor before stared straight back at The Doctor, "Hold on a second", she said to Kate. She paused for a moment before stating to The Doctor, "UNIT estimate we've got less than five minutes before the bubble closes and we're stuck out here without a way of stopping it".

The Doctor frowned and snatched the phone away from Clara, "We're not beaten yet Clara Oswald", she stated and placed the phone to her ear, "Kate listen to me because we're only going to get one shot at this. Find the best computer person you've got in that room and sit them behind the keyboard". She then turned towards Clara and pointed at one of the circuit boards inside the plinth, "Don't worry, I've got a plan", she smiled.

Somehow Clara wasn't fully convinced by that statement because virtually nothing The Doctor had done in the last few minutes had reassured her that the Time Lord knew what she was doing. Either this new Doctor was supremely confident or a reckless idiot who was hoping for the best. The next few minutes would answer that question for her.

 **TO BE CONTINUED**


	7. Another Day At The Office

_Chapter 7 – Another Day At The Office_

 _Previously - The Doctor frowned and snatched the phone away from Clara, "We're not beaten yet Clara Oswald", she stated and placed the phone to her ear, "Kate listen to me because we're only going to get one shot at this. Find the best computer person you've got in that room and sit them behind the keyboard". She then turned towards Clara and pointed at one of the circuit boards inside the plinth, "Don't worry, I've got a plan", she smiled._

 _Somehow Clara wasn't fully convinced by that statement because virtually nothing The Doctor had done in the last few minutes had reassured her that the Time Lord knew what she was doing. Either this new Doctor was supremely confident or a reckless idiot who was hoping for the best. The next few minutes would answer that question for her._

The Doctor continued to inspect the tangle of wires underneath the plinth, mumbling under her breath in the process. Periodically Clara looked at her watch and counted off the seconds, they now had just three minutes until the temporal bubble closed around Earth. The school teacher kept observing the new Doctor behaviour but there was no sign of any nerves from the raven haired woman. "Is this the latest model", The Doctor waived Clara's mobile phone in her hand.

Clara frowned, "Yeah it only came out a few weeks ago", the school was confused, this hardly seemed like the time to be discussing gadgets.

"Teaching children must pay reasonably well", The Doctor replied, eying up the phone, "I know how overpriced little gadgets like this are in this time period". She began rummaging in her jacket pocket for something, "I assume it can make video calls?"

"Of course it can Grandma", Clara chuckled slightly. The Doctor held out her hand and Clara slowly handed the device to her. The Time Lady looked over the phone with a quizzical look on her face, "Do you need a few moments to get used to it?" Clara asked after a few moments.

"This primitive device", The Doctor scoffed, "I built something more advanced before I could learn to walk". Clara crossed her arms across her chest and glared at the woman, "Now when the iPhone 12 comes out in a few years time, that is the true beginning of the technological revolution". She paused and shuddered slightly, "small piece of advice though Clara, carry a towel around with you if you get one, the neural interface can get a little messy". Before the school teacher could respond, The Doctor pulled something out of her pocket, "Ah ha, I knew it was in here somewhere", in her hand was a small white cable.

"Is that a phone charger", Clara pointed at the wire, "we've got less than three minutes until the bubble closes and you're worried about my battery going flat". The brunette tried to remain calm but The Doctor's flippant attitude was getting on her nerves. The previous Doctor might have liked to ramble on but at least his banter was relevant. The actions of this Time Lady didn't seem to be making sense.

"This isn't a phone charger", The Doctor rolled her eyes, "it's a universal adapter. With this you can connect any portable device to any machine of any time period". She dangled the wire in front of her face for a few seconds before connecting one end to Clara's phone, "Apple will hail this as the next step in connectivity at their Expo in 2029. Sadly they were a little short sighted and for once they really did mean universal so suddenly everyone was connecting non Apple devices using this little beauty". The Doctor put the phone on top of the plinth and grabbed the other end of the cable, "That all led to the Android Wars of 2033, the first war to be fought in virtual reality and led to Apple dictatorship. Bit of a confusing time in history I'm afraid".

"Doctor is this all going somewhere", Clara cried in exasperation, "I don't think you're taking this seriously".

The Doctor sighed and looked Clara directly in the eye, "Trust me Clara Oswald I'm taking this very seriously and I would appreciate it if you didn't question my commitment again". Clara recoiled slightly as the Time Lady turned away sharply from the school teacher and connected the other end of the cable to the computer inside the plinth. What the school teacher couldn't see was the expression on the Time Lady's face. She had screwed up her eyes tightly in frustration and annoyance that she had spoken to Clara so harshly. The words flashed into her mind and they rolled out of her mouth before she had a chance to rein those thoughts in. Unfortunately for her companion she had been on the end of an unintentional tongue lashing. The last thing The Doctor wanted to do was upset Clara, despite the change of face she was still her friend.

Just then Clara's phone rang and the display indicted it was a video call, "Ah Kate, good to see you again", The Doctor answered the call, suppressing the anger that she felt towards herself. To her surprise it wasn't just Kate's face that appeared on the small screen. There were two smaller boxes on the right hand which contained a couple of familiar faces, "Captain Yates", she smiled, "and Sarah Jane Smith, this really is a day for reunions".

The elderly Captain stared at the woman in confusion, "I'm sorry have we met", he asked.

"Course we have Captain, I'm The Doctor", the pair looked at her in confusion but the Time Lady didn't give them a chance to answer, "sorry bit pushed for time, we'll catch up soon". She pressed her fingers against the screen and with a swiping motion, moved the smaller boxes away, "Have you found someone to help?" she asked Kate.

"Not exactly", Kate sighed, "no one that we can get here in time".

Clara knelt down next to her phone, keeping a gap between herself and the Time Lady. She still reeling from the verbal assault from The Doctor, "What about you Osgood?" she asked, "you were pretty good the last time we met".

"I'm already helping", Osgood answered, adjusting her glasses nervously, "but to get this done in the timeframe we have, I need a second person to help".

"I'll do it", another voice called out from UNIT Headquarters. Everyone turned their attention to Winifred McQueen who was standing timidly in the background, "I don't have much experience with this system but I programmed in DOS during my University days".

Kate shook her head, "Winifred how did you even get in here", she scolded the woman, "you don't have the required security clearance".

"T-The door was open", Winifred stammered, "I-I thought I could help".

"You snuck into a top secret room in a UNIT base?" The Doctor asked and Winifred nodded gingerly, "my kind of person, you've got the job".

"Doctor!" Kate cried.

"Under two minutes", Osgood called out and turned to Winifred, "I'll do the heavy lifting but be prepared to interlock my code lines". Winifred nodded slowly before focusing on the screen. From what they could see on the tiny screen, Osgood's fingers were a blur on her keyboard. In the background they could see Kate, Jack and Martha watching on nervously. Every few seconds, Osgood nodded at her computer companion and Winifred would take over for a couple of moments.

"Something's happening", Clara pointed at the coloured tubes, they were turning from a dull green colour to a bright shade of red.

"What's happening Doc", Jack called out, "less than sixty seconds".

"If my calculations are correct then we're slowly reversing the polarity of the temporal bubble", The Doctor recoiled slightly at her own words, "reverse the polarity", she shuddered, "sounds stupid, now I know why I haven't said that in a while but I really don't have time to explain what's actually happening". By now the tubes were a vibrant shade of red and pulsating rapidly, "Clara, we might want to take a couple of steps back".

The Doctor followed her own advice and pulled a reluctant Clara along with her. The computer emitted a loud bang, followed by a shower of sparks. Moments later a column of red light flew up into the sky and out into space. A violent wind was whipped up by the energy beam, forcing the pair to drop down low to the ground to protect themselves from flying objects, "Is it meant to do that?" Clara shouted over the wind.

"I think so", The Doctor replied, "it's a little bit more violent than I expected", she added with a manic grin. For a brief moment, Clara thought she could see The Doctor she knew in the woman as the same child like joy was plastered on her face. It was a fleeting moment as she remembered the other times the Time Lady was less than pleasant and a deep frown formed on her face. Seconds later The Doctor's eye widened and pulled Clara's head down as a flying piece of metal nearly took both of their heads off. The school teacher looked up gingerly and muttered her appreciation to the Time Lady.

Out in space a small amber coloured vortex had opened just above the Earth. The red energy beam crashed into the vortex and began to slowly pull the Dalek, Cybermen and Sontaran fleets into the swirling energy portal. A couple of ships broke apart as they got caught in the violent energy, spreading debris out into space.

Just as quickly as it had started, the wind stopped and the computer sparked again, turning the internal components into ash. Seeing that it was safe to stand up, The Doctor did just that and helped Clara to her feet. The Time Lady adjusted her jacket and walked towards the plinth, "Well the planet's still here, so that's a good sign", she said, looking up to the sky.

"No rampaging Daleks either", Clara added. She reached the plinth and saw a burned out metal shell sitting where her phone had been, "Is that my phone?" she asked the Time Lady.

The Doctor picked up the twisted pile of metal, glass and plastic, "Ah, yes I think so", she replied and the remains of the phone crumbled into dust. She ignored Clara's protest and crouched down in front of the computer, "Looks like this thing is burned out as well", she added, "I would say that the safety of humanity is more important than your phone".

Clara looked at the remains of her phone and then at the Time Lady. She was still conflicted about the new Doctor, she wasn't always the easiest person to get along with but she had pulled through for the planet when it mattered. Sadly her brand new phone had taken the brunt of her heroic actions but she did make a good point, "I suppose so", she said with a small smile, "I guess we've got to walk back".

The moment Clara said this, a black van pulled up and several UNIT troopers jumped out, "Secure the area boys", The Doctor called out before turning to Clara, "looks like we've got a ride back to the Tower". As the pair jumped into the van, The Doctor paused to look at the plinth. Someone had installed thirty first century technology and used it to create a potentially devastating temporal bubble. The question was, who had the capability to do something like this and what was their purpose?

The Doctor silently contemplated this during their journey back to UNIT Headquarters but no answers came to her. There was no obvious design signature that linked it to a particular species which made her deliberation even harder. She was a little distracted by Clara though, who was staring out the window and chewing her nails at the same time. The Time Lady knew she hadn't been particularly kind towards her companion but she wasn't sure how to make things right. She desperately needed to talk with her companion to and that scared her more than any invading alien fleet.

The UNIT van reached it's destination, she noticed that Winifred was surrounded by several UNIT troopers and scientists. She had an embarrassed expression on her face and as The Doctor got closer, she could hear them praising her actions, "Nice job Winnie", she called out to the scientist, "couldn't have done it any better myself".

"Surely that's not true Doctor", Winifred blushed.

"No its not but then again, you are only human", The Doctor joked, "I'm sure your boss will reward you for your actions", by now Kate and Osgood were coming into view, "isn't that right boss?"

"Funny, I never imagined you calling me boss", Kate smiled, "the alien fleet has gone Doctor".

"Right back where they came from", The Doctor added, "by redirecting the energy they got sucked back through the very time portal they came from". The Doctor walked away from the other UNIT scientists to join up with the approaching Jack and Martha.

"The team at the scene say that the device you found has been burned beyond recognition", Kate called out, "we'll probably never find out who planted it".

The Doctor nodded sadly, she had come to the same conclusion herself, "Hopefully they'll have got the message that this planet is protected again. If not", The Doctor smiled, "then you know where to find me". The Doctor felt something warm up inside her pocket, she pulled it out to reveal a small key, "Ah, the TARDIS is finished", she bounced on the balls of her feet, "who wants to take a look?"

The Time Lady didn't wait for a response and walked briskly towards her TARDIS, leaving Jack, Clara, Martha, Kate and Osgood in her wake. She unlocked the door and slowly stepped inside, taking in every aspect of the TARDIS' new look. A narrow metal walkway lead up to the central console but either side of the structure was nothing but a dark chasm. It was like a drawbridge over a moat, except instead of water there was infinite nothingness. The central console looked like it had been cobbled together from various piece of bronze metal piping, giving it a steampunk look. The walls were a metallic silver colour with bronze coloured rondels, "Not bad old girl", The Doctor caressed the console, "I hope you've sealed off the sides though", she added, looking over the walkway and into the vast expanse of nothingness below.

"Wow that's a long way down", Jack whistled as he looked over the edge, "it's like the console is suspended over nothing", he added as he bent two to get a closer look at the console.

"The old girl's clever like that", The Doctor smiled. There were two scanners attached to the central console, one looked like a 1950s style TV complete with glass valves on top. The other was a more modern flat screen that was on a movable stand. The Time Lady flicked a couple of switches randomly and a few other glass valves on the console surface lit up.

"It really is bigger on the inside", Osgood gasped but she made a mistake of looking down, "much, much bigger".

"Don't worry, the TARDIS won't let anyone fall", The Doctor replied, "assuming she likes you that is".

"Does she like me", Clara asked nervously, remembering her patchy track record with the time capsule.

The Doctor laughed, "Yes she likes you Clara", the Time Lady took off her coat and hung it over one of the railing, "I know this hasn't been the smoothest introduction", she continued, "but thank you for sticking with me". She kept her gaze on the school teacher, hoping that she would believe the sincerity behind her words.

"Just glad to have you back Doctor", Kate replied, "now I've got a tremendous amount of paperwork to do. I will assume that you don't want to help us with that".

"Oh Kate", The Doctor laughed, "I haven't changed that much".

"I thought so", Kate turned around and headed out of the TARDIS, "come on Osgood, you're not getting out of this". The bespectacled UNIT member, still stunned by the TARDIS slowly backed away from the central console. She bumped into a railing and leapt backwards in shock. Her inhaler flew out of her hand, over the railing and into the abyss below. Moments later the same inhaler landed with a clang at her feet, surprising the woman even more. She grabbed it and scrambled out of the TARDIS as quickly as she could.

"Guess that answers the safety aspect of the TARDIS", Jack chuckled, "I should get back to Cardiff, I've left Gwen alone for too long". He opened his arms and wrapped The Doctor up in a firm hug, "Don't be a stranger", he whispered.

"Wouldn't dream of it Captain", The Doctor answered. The Time Lady turned to Martha, "You probably should check on Mickey, make sure he hasn't destroyed anything".

"He's not that bad Doctor", Martha smiled and hugged the Time Lady, "this is still weird by the way".

"Try living it", The Doctor smiled and let go of the woman. With Jack and Martha gone, that left The Doctor and Clara alone inside the TARDIS, "I guess it's time for us to talk", she sighed, "let's try and find somewhere more comfortable, hopefully the TARDIS kept the old relaxation room intact". The Doctor headed down one of the walkways and into the living quarters of the TARDIS with Clara close behind. This wouldn't be an easy conversation for either of them.

 _ **A/N -** The steampunk console room seems like something right up The Doctor's alley, surprised it hasn't really been used yet. Two chapters to go of this story so thank you to everyone who's read/reviewed and favourited so far. _


	8. I Need A Little Time

_Chapter 8 - I Need A Little Time_

The Doctor and Clara had been moving through the bowels of the TARDIS for several minutes and the school teacher was growing more impatient with each passing moment. The Time Lady had rejected conducting their long overdue talk in the library, both of the kitchens they had come across and the small games room. To Clara, it looks like The Doctor was trying to put off their talk for as long as possible. The raven haired alien woman had been largely silent during her apparent aimless search. She occasionally stole a quick look at her companion but her expression was largely unreadable. It wasn't filling Clara with much confidence for the conversation that was to come. Eventually The Time Lady paused in front of a large steel door with some strange circular symbols, "Here we are", The Doctor declared. She gave the heavy door a shove and it swung open with a loud creaking noise.

Behind the door were a number of other smalls doors but each one was a different design, "What am I meant to be looking at Doctor?" Clara asked, "This just looks like every other corridor on the ship". The brunette noticed that the Time Lady was looking a little uncomfortable standing in this corridor. It surprised her as the whole point of them wondering around the TARDIS was to find somewhere relaxing to talk. The awkwardness of the situation was getting to Clara and she shuffled on the spot, wrapping her arms around her body.

Despite what some of her past companions thought, The Doctor was acutely aware of human emotion and she knew how uncomfortable Clara was feeling. This area of the TARDIS was extremely important to the Time Lady and only a select few had ever entered this corridor. "Ah but this one is special", The Doctor turned on the spot and opened her arms, "Clara Oswald, welcome to the TARDIS archive". The Doctor gave the petite brunette a big smile, sharing this with Clara was like sharing a small piece of herself with her companion.

Clara didn't realise the importance of the archive to The Doctor until she started examining some of the door. Each of them had a different name printed on them, there was a dark blue, almost black door with the word 'Ace' standing next to a light pink door with the name 'Rose', "When a companion leaves, the TARDIS archives their old bedroom", The Doctor added, "it's her way of remembering everyone who's stayed onboard over the years". The Time Lady implied it was the TARDIS who controlled the archive but actually it was her. Even after her companions left, The Doctor wanted to keep something to remind her about the adventures they shared. To her immense regret, she didn't visit this area often. The memories of her past should have filled her with happiness but instead they often left the Time Lady feeling empty and alone.

Clara continued to inspect the doors and recognised some of the names, 'Jack', 'Martha', 'The Ponds', 'Sarah', "Did you save all of them?" Clara stated as she brushed her hand against a stone effect door.

"Most of them", The Doctor replied, "I had to eject Romana's room towards the end of my fourth life". She chuckled softly, "She wasn't impressed when I told her", the Time Lady paused and gazed towards the ground, "I would've like to have kept that one". Memories of the other Time Lady that travelled in the TARDIS flooded into her mind. Romana was the one that she had the closest relationship of anyone and The Doctor would've loved to revisit her time with the former President of Gallifrey but sadly, that was impossible. The Doctor shook herself out of her revelry and touched the door that Clara was standing next to, "Now this room belonged to Nyssa, she was a noble woman from the planet Traken, I could tell you some stories about the adventures I got into with her, Adric and Tegan".

"This is a lovely trip down memory lane Doctor", Clara said softly, she could see that the Time Lady was getting lost in her memories. It might be a little selfish of her but she wanted The Doctor's focus purely on her right now, "I thought we were here to talk", she added.

"To understand the future, first you must understand the past", The Doctor stated and continued to walk down the corridor. She paused at one room that had similar circular patterns to the archive room and patted it a couple of times. Clara was about to ask why he did that but the Time Lady's voice prevented her from vocalising her question, "I think this one will do nicely", she stated and stepped inside.

Clara followed The Doctor's lead and stepped through the archway. She was suddenly hit with a wave of familiarity, "This is my room", Clara gasped, "this has been moved to the archive already?" Clara's room was a perfect replica of the bedroom of her London flat. The room was dominated by a king sized bed with crisp white sheets. The walls were a pale orange colour that gave a little warmth to the room. There were several bookshelves on one wall that were lined with Clara's favourite books. The bedside cabinet even had some homework that she had taken onto the TARDIS to mark during the breaks between their adventures.

"Part of the TARDIS's remodelling process", The Doctor tried to reassure the brunette, "you'll get an entirely new room anyway".

As The Doctor plopped herself down on the bed, Clara froze at the Time Lady's words. This was the moment she was dreading, "Doctor, that's something I think we need to talk about", she sighed.

"Didn't you like the colour of your old room", The Doctor indicated to the pale orange walls, "you can pick whatever colour you want this time". Clara folded her arms across her chest and looked at the floor. It didn't take a genius to work out what was on her mind, "You're not coming are you?" she said softly. All of The Doctor's greatest fears rose to the surface, she had lost too many companions over the centuries. She didn't want to add Clara to that list, she had barely begun to get to know the school teacher.

"I don't know", Clara sat down next to The Doctor but kept her gaze away from the raven haired woman, "I don't think you know what it was like for me when you died", she continued, "I sat for hours and watched that funeral pyre burn. It's taken these last few weeks for me to come to terms with that and then you just breeze back in without a proper explanation and expect to pick up like nothing happened". That was one of two major sticking points for Clara, the lack of consideration from the Time Lady. The Doctor really didn't understand the pain that she had gone through firstly on Trezalore and then at the Time Lady's funeral pyre. From what she had seen so far, The Doctor wasn't in a hurry to understand either.

"I thought you would be pleased to see me", The Doctor said with a defensive tone, her head angled slightly towards the brunette. Frustration was building inside the Time Lady, this conversation wasn't going in the direction she envisioned.

Clara laughed to herself, "And then they're this attitude of yours", she shook her head, "one minute you're happy and the next you're biting people's heads off. It's like riding a bloody rollercoaster with you now". The second sticking point for Clara, if The Doctor was rude all the time in this incarnation she could deal with that. She wouldn't be overly happy but she would learn to accept the change. It was the inconsistency that was getting to her and she wasn't sure if she wanted to.

"New body, new rules", The Doctor snapped but she instantly regretted her harsh tone, "a little bit like that I'm guessing". She slapped her legs a couple of times and drummed her fingers, "Alright I'm going to lay everything on the table", she began, "my previous self wasn't your boyfriend and I have no intension of changing that". The school teacher was about to offer a rebuttal but the Time Lady cut her off, "Yes, this new incarnation is a little bit impatient and will probably breeze in like a hurricane but that's something we're both going to have to live with". Possibly for the first time today, this slightly rude outburst had been carefully considered by The Doctor. It pained her to be so blunt with Clara but she didn't want the school teacher to make such an important decision without knowing exactly what she was letting herself in for.

Silence descended on the room for a few moments as Clara absorbed the Time Lady's words. She gazed down towards her boots before looking directly at The Doctor, "I joined the previous Doctor because he needed saving from himself but this new you", she paused before adding, "I think I need to be there to save the universe from you". The Doctor looked slightly taken back by her friend's words, that wasn't the response she was expecting, "I'm not talking saving the universe from you in an evil way but more protecting people from you at their most vulnerable time", Clara added.

The Time Lady nodded slowly, "I always wondered if my companions saw themselves as my carer", she sighed. Her companions words had struck deeply into the Time Lady's hearts. Was she really that heartless towards everyone's feelings? "Clara, I can't think of anyone I'd rather travel the universe with", she gazed at the brunette with a pleading look, "what do you say, will you give this new me a chance?"

Clara thought about this for a couple of moments before responding, "I need some time to process everything", she declared, "come back in a week and I'll have an answer for you".

"A week?" The Doctor asked with a deflated tone, "it was the following day last time".

"I know but that was before all of this happened", Clara sighed, "please Doctor, just give me a week, that's all I'm asking".

The Doctor looked slightly dejected but nodded in acknowledgement, "Alright, that gives me time to think of somewhere awesome to take you".

"Thank you Doctor", the school teacher stood up slowly, "I'll make my own way out". Clara straightened out her skirt and exited her old room without taking a second glance. She hurried through the corridors before she could change her mind. She desperately wanted to say yes to The Doctor but her brain was overloaded at the moment. The Doctor wasn't dead but had somehow been reborn into a new body, a female body at that. She had overheard Jack say that The Doctor's personality was still settling after her regeneration. Perhaps having a quick break from each other would give everything time to settle down.

She arrived back in the console room and took a look around. The steampunk inspired console room summed up the Time Lady perfectly, objects from the past being used to create something for the future. The walkway over the seemingly infinite chasm was some kind of metaphor for The Doctor now, the leap of faith that was needed before entering the TARDIS. Clara was willing to take that leap but she needed some time to work up enough courage before committing.

Clara exited the TARDIS and closed the door behind her, the sun was beginning to set so she pulled her jacket tighter around her body. She took several paces away from the TARDIS and was nearly out the courtyard when a phone began to ring. It took her a few moments to realise the sound was coming from her pocket. A small smile appeared on her face, at some point The Doctor must've slipped the replacement into her pocket.

The brunette looked at the display, the number was withheld so she couldn't tell who was calling. She slid her finger across the screen and placed the device up to her ear, "Hello", she answered.

" _Hello Clara",_ the school teacher froze at the sound of that voice, it was the previous Doctor's, _"this call probably comes as a bit of shock"._

"Yeah you could say that", Clara replied and swallowed deepily, "how are you doing that?"

" _Timey wimey Clara_ ", The Doctor chuckled, _"I'm making this call whilst you're out on the balcony speaking with the Time Lords"._

Clara frowned slightly, "You knew", she whispered, "you told me you wouldn't regenerate, you knew that you would come back", she shook her head, "you utter bastard", she added, her voice breaking with emotion. The Doctor knew all alone that he would be reborn and he had allowed her to go through all that pain without telling her.

" _That's a little harsh",_ The Doctor recoiled at her tone, _"I had a contingency plan in place but I couldn't tell anyone about it. If I revealed my plan too early then everything would've been ruined"._

"Plan, what plan", Clara asked, hurt that The Doctor would keep something this big from her.

" _Sorry Clara, spoilers",_ The Doctor stated, _"my new self will tell you when they're ready"._ There was silence on the line before The Doctor spoke again, _"Give the new Doctor all the support you can, I trust them more than anyone else in the universe"._

Clara looked towards the sky, "But she's so different than you".

There was silence for a couple of seconds before The Doctor answered, " _She? Well that really is different. Tell me am I ginger now, actually no don't tell me, I want it to be a surprise when the moment comes"._ Clara let out a hollow laugh, she missed the rambling of the old Doctor already, _"Have faith in the new Doctor, this is new for her as well"._

The sound of the TARDIS taking off stopped the conversation as Clara watched the machine dematerialise, "Little late for that Doctor, she's already gone. I asked her to come back for me in a week's time".

" _And I'm sure she will",_ The Doctor replied, " _I've got to go, I'm already breaking a number of rules by making this call. Goodbye Clara"._

The phone line went dead, leaving Clara to whisper, "Goodbye Doctor", to herself. She stared at the phone for a couple of seconds before placing it back into her pocket. Rather than reassure her, that call from the previous Doctor had only made her more confused. He knew that his life would continue on after Trenzalore but he never said anything to her. The current Doctor hadn't said anything to her either. She had been willing to continue her travels after this short break but now she really wasn't sure. It looked like there was another awkward conversation between her and The Doctor coming up. She didn't need to be a Time Lady to see that.

As Clara left the courtyard at UNIT Headquarters, she didn't notice someone standing in the doorway of the nearby building. Winifred McQueen had watched the TARDIS dematerialise with a confused expression on her face. Her gaze was almost fixed on the spot where it had been standing and she remained in that position until Clara walked past her. She ducked into the doorway to avoid detection before turning around and walking back into the building, her face still an expressionless mask.


	9. The Next Great Adventure

_Chapter 9 – The Next Great Adventure_

The Doctor spent a few moments in Clara's room, still unsure if anyone would ever set foot in there again. She stood up and rested her head on the doorframe, trying to take in every single detail. She thought about her the conversation with Clara and considered her words carefully. Was the school teacher correct, did the universe really need protecting from her? This regeneration was a little spikier than the previous Doctor but surely not to universe threatening levels. She was certainly different enough to drive Clara away which gave the Time Lady cause for concern.

With a loud sigh she pushed herself off the door frame and ventured out in the corridor. The Doctor inspected some of the other doors in the archives, trying to find some solace from the names . Firstly she came across Martha's old room, she had done a good job turning her into a soldier during the year that never was, so much so that she joined UNIT as a field doctor. The Martha she first met would never have done that. Next in the archives was the room belonging to Donna Noble, the fiery red head who challenged The Doctor every step of the way. At least she was living a peaceful life the raven haired woman thought, even if she couldn't remember her travels with the Time Lady.

The list of personal failures continued the longer she spent in the archives. Peri Brown, her consciousness fractured into several pieces and spread throughout time and space. There was a version of her living in modern day Los Angeles but the original Peri was dead. That brought The Doctor to some other companions of his fifth self, Adric, sacrificed his life to save all of creation, Nyssa, her father was killed when The Master took over his body, Leela, previously presumed dead when Gallifrey was destroyed but now probably trapped in the pocket dimension with the other Time Lords. The Doctor paused at a couple of other rooms, "At least you two are safe", she muttered at the former rooms of Sarah Jane Smith and Jo Grant. So many names that had been lost to The Doctor over the last two millennia, creating an aching in the Time Lady's soul that was full of guilt.

Finally The Doctor paused at the room with circular writing and opened the door. The inside was very minimalistic with plain white walls, a double bed, a metal desk and a wardrobe in the corner. Scattered over the desk was some unfinished paperwork, a half built electronic device and a small tape recorder. The Doctor picked up the paperwork and scanned her eyes over the text, "Theory of thermodynamics in the fifth dimension", she whispered, "that takes me back". She turned on the tape recorder and to her surprise, Let It Be by The Beatles began to play, "The demo version", she smiled, "I really should drop in on John and thank him". The Doctor turned off the tape recorder and left the room, pausing only to inspecting the writing again, "Arkytior", he whispered in revelry before shaking her head and leaving the archive.

The Doctor made her way to the console room and took a moment to check the external scanner. The device was now in the shape of a 1950's television set and the Time Lady had to twist a couple of knobs before an image could be displayed. She noticed that Clara was still outside but talking on her phone. "Maybe I should pay a visit to some of my companions that I haven't screwed up", the Time Lady sighed and moved around to the other side of the console. She needed some reassurance that she was a good person and maybe some familiar faces could do that. She twisted a couple of values, placed her hand out in front to protect herself from some steam. Finally she pulled a lever and set the TARDIS in motion, "Sorry the first trip is so brief", The Doctor called out to the TARDIS, "just need to make sure everything is working alright".

Just to The Doctor's left, a small pipe emitted some steam, "I know I shouldn't be crossing a timeline", The Doctor stated, "but Clara said she had already met me so I know I've already done this successfully". The time rotor emitted its familiar groaning noise and the TARDIS landed with a bump. The Doctor ran over to other screen, this one a more modern looking flat screen computer modern. She pulled it a little closer and checked her present location, "North London about three hours ago", she smiled, "not bad and on the first attempt". She looked down at her clothes, "Clara said that I had changed my clothes", she continued, "better find something suitable in the wardrobe for a memorial service". She turned sharply on her heels and moved briskly to the wardrobe, eager to join the party and desperate to validate her own worth to the universe.

It didn't take The Doctor long to find a black cocktail dress that stopped just above her knees and a matching pair of heels. Fortunately these shoes came from the fifty second century and were specifically designed to prevent tripping. Still unsure what to do with her new long hair, The Doctor simply left it flowing loosely down her back. She tottered out of the wardrobe and back into the console room, patting the console on the way past, "Don't wait up sexy", she called out and opened the TARDIS doors.

She had parked the TARDIS opposite the building and had switched on stealth mode. She wouldn't make her grand re-entrance for another couple of hours, if the TARDIS was noticed now it could have a serious impact on the timestream. Before leaving the TARDIS's wardrobe, she had picked up a small clutch handbag. When The Doctor approached the UNIT guard on security duty, she reached inside and pulled out the psychic paper. She flashed it quickly at the guard and with a grunt, he let her into the building.

The Doctor made sure not to draw too much attention to herself, instead she looked at some of the large pictures on display, "Not the most flattering angles", she muttered, looking at a picture of the Eleventh Doctor, "my word that chin is huge, and where are the eyebrows", she added. She moved down the line to the Tenth Doctor, "This picture must be cropped", she shook her head.

"What makes you say that?" an elderly sounding voice said from behind her. The Doctor turned her head slightly, just enough to make out the grey hair and beard belonging to Wilfred Mott, Donna's Grandfather.

"He's so skinny", The Doctor replied, "a strong breeze would probably blow him over". The Time Lady called on all of her willpower not to throw her arms around Wilfred. He was one of the kindest souls she had ever met. Wilfred had been there for her tenth self during his final adventure, eventually forcing the Tenth Doctor to sacrifice his life to save the old man. The Time Lady allowed herself a small smile, she had no regrets about saving his life and would do it again in a heartbeat.

"He was a good man though", Wilfred said sadly, "he gave up his life to save mine", the old man paused for a moment, echoing The Doctors own thoughts from a moment ago, "I never did thank him properly".

The Doctor lowered her head and muttered, "You're welcome".

"Hmm", Wilfred replied, "did you say something".

"Oh, no", The Doctor stated, "just clearing my throat. So did you travel with this version of The Doctor?" She already knew the answer but she had to keep her cover up.

"Just the once and that was enough for an old man like me", Wilfred stated, "my Granddaughter Donna, she saw the universe with that man", he sighed, "but now she can't remember any of it".

The Doctor suddenly felt a little uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was taking. She was here to alleviate her guilt, not be reminded of her failure to protect Donna. She quickly changed the subject, "Did you know he was a Grandfather too", she stated, "proudest moment of his life when she was born. She travelled with him too you know, saw the most wondrous things, saved whole civilisations".

"What happened to her?" Wilfred asked, during his brief meetings with The Doctor, he had never mentioned anything about his family.

"She grew up", The Doctor stated sadly, "had a family of her own, might consider travelling herself one day".

There was a brief moment of silence between the pair before Wilfred asked, "You know a lot about The Doctor, what did you say your name was?"

Internally The Doctor was cursing Wilfred for being so sharp but she was saved by a sharp whistling from the other side of the room. She noticed Captain Jack, Clara and Sarah Jane standing next to each other. Clara looked annoyed at the Captain before she reluctantly began to make a speech. As she was talking, The Doctor finally took a good look around the room. There were some noticeable absences but it looked like almost every available companion was in the room. The Doctor couldn't help but be touched but the support and loyalty shown by the group, even in her supposed death.

Clara's speech finished quicker than expected but the words were enough to stir something inside the Time Lady. The Doctor thought highly of all of her companions but to hear Clara compare the Time Lady so highly to them inspired her once again. The speech allowed The Doctor to quietly slip away from Wilfred. She continued to look at the pictures, starting at the First Doctor and moving slowly onto the Second Doctor. The Doctor thought that she had evaded further observation but that illusion was soon shattered as she inspected a picture of the Sixth Doctor, "It took a brave man to pull off that kind of coat".

The Doctor cursed herself, somehow Clara had spotted her from the other side of the room. Deciding to avoid eye contact for the moment, she replied, "Like an explosion in a paint factory, not one of his prouder moments".

The Time Lady thought that would be enough to evade further questions but Clara wasn't giving up "Did you know The Doctor well?" she asked.

"Not as well as I would've liked", The Doctor replied quickly, almost surprising herself with the way that sounded and how quickly it had come to mind. Realising she couldn't put this off any longer, she turned around and gave Clara a tight smile, "You must be Clara Oswald, the host of this event", the woman offered her hand but noticed how reluctant Clara was to return the gesture.

"More like party planner", Clara replied slowly. The Doctor knew she had to be careful with her words, Clara picked up on things really quickly, "So did you travel with this Doctor?" Clara added

"Fortunately not", The Doctor stated, "he was a bit too loud for my taste, if I'm recalling him correctly". Once again The Doctor cursed herself, clearly this incarnation spoke before thinking, even when trying to be careful. Ironically her current personality was probably quite similar to the Sixth Doctor, with a little bit of the Ninth Doctor thrown in for good measure.

The Doctor could see Clara attempting to mentally join the dots in her head and kept her gaze on the Time Lady. The sound of a ringing phone grabbed The Doctor's attention but it didn't distract Clara, "You're being evasive", she stated with a cool tone, "just who are you?"

The Time Lady felt a slight pull in her head. Her time sense was telling her that the earlier version of herself was arriving in the area. It served as a warning that she needed to get out and as quickly as possible. Knowing that Clara would bump into her in a couple of hours, The Doctor dispensed with the subtlety and laughed, "You'll find out soon enough", she pointed her head in the direction of Kate Stewart who was talking on her phone, "you might want to pay attention to that".

Clara turned her head and The Doctor used the distraction to quickly run to the exit. She breezed past the guard and gave her a little wave in the process but her footwear was giving her some problems, "I don't know how women tolerate these things". The Doctor hopped on one foot and took off one of her shoes and then repeated the manoeuvre with the other one, "centuries of engineering progress and they still can't make a comfortable pair of heels", she grumbled. The Doctor stepped inside the TARDIS and tossed the pair of shoes into the chasm at the side of the walkway. When the TARDIS didn't return them, she knew that she wasn't going to need them again in the future.

The Time Lady paused at the console and leaned next to the time scanner. The little visit to her own memorial service had been enlightening. It made her realise how clever and observant her companions were. She smiled at a comment the Eleventh Doctor had made, all of her past incarnations really did choose the best of humanity to travel with. But then she remembered the hurt in Wilfred Mott's eyes when he talked about Donna. Some of her past companions weren't able to be there today, maybe it was time for The Doctor to make some house calls, "I've spent a lot of time running old girl and made a lot of mistakes", The Doctor said out loud, "it's time that changed".

The Doctor activated the scanner and flipped the lever to move them out into the Time Vortex, "I made a promise to return for Clara in a week", she continued, "but I can get a lot done in that time". She twisted a couple of glass valves, "I'm going to start with my biggest regret", she paused for a moment, "I'm going to find Gallifrey". The Doctor clung on to the console as the TARDIS conducted a search for the lost planet. The time for running aimless was over, now The Doctor had something to search for and she would do everything in her power to find her lost home planet.

 **THE END**

 _ **A/N –**_ _So there it is, end of the 'pilot' episode of this series. I've been extremely happy with the response so far so I'm pleased to announce that the next instalment will be uploaded in a couple of weeks time. It will entitled "Family Affairs" and will see feature three different yet related "episodes". Here's a quick synopsis of what to expect, I hope to see you again:_

 _ **Episode 2:**_ _A trip to The Moon in the twenty second century sees The Doctor battle creatures known as Time Shadows as she tried to prevent a fixed point in time from disintegrating. The Time Lady gets a surprise though when she bumped into a newly regenerated Jenny, a daughter she forgot she even had._

 _ **Episode 3:**_ _The TARDIS summons The Doctor to Gallifrey as all of her past incarnations plan to freeze the planet in a moment in time. A meeting with her past selves reveals the secret of the Time Lady's memory lapses and answers the question about her rebirth._

 _ **Episode 4:**_ _To cheer Jenny up, The Doctor takes her to seventeenth century Japan to understand why the younger Time Lady can't access her soldier training from her previous life. The Time Lady's though run afoul of a male dominated clan, forcing them to take sanctuary with a group of exiles kunoichi._


End file.
